Still Standing
by rhosinthorn
Summary: After Makarov disbanded the guild, the former Fairy Tail members slowly left Magnolia, leaving only Lucy behind. Bound by her promise to Natsu, she enters into a contract that becomes more dangerous by the day. When Laxus discovers how far she has gone to protect the guild, he struggles with his own involvement in the matter. Set after/includes spoilers from 416.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

"Bye Mira!" Lucy called, waving as the eldest Takeover sibling boarded the train. "I'll be here when you come back."

"Bye Lucy! Take care of yourself!"

Lucy stayed at the platform until the train was out of sight, not willing to admit to herself that she was all alone in Magnolia. Sure, the townsfolk were all there, but the last remaining Fairy Tail member, other than Lucy, had left. It had been three weeks since the close of their battle with Tartarus, and two weeks since the guild had been disbanded. Slowly, not believing at first, the members of Fairy Tail had left Magnolia. Some went on training journeys, others joined other guilds, and a few just disappeared. In the past three weeks, Lucy had said goodbye to more people than she had wanted to.

Her hand brushed across her keys, and her heart ached as she felt the broken key. Nobody knew about Aquarius; things had happened too quickly for her to say anything. Calling out Plue, she tried to smile as she walked along the canal back to the site of the destroyed guild.

A few hastily constructed benches remained, made from the wreckage as those who stayed behind gathered to talk about what they would do now. They had talked about restarting the guild, with a new master, but nobody could be found. The obvious choice was Laxus, but he had been one of the ones who had disappeared. Erza, after hearing about the guild's dissolution had also vanished, but Lucy had a sneaking suspicion that Titania had gone after Jellal. Someone had reported seeing Mystogun somewhere in town, along with a group of dark robed followers.

Mira had refused the position, as had Macao and Wakaba. The remaining guild members were too young, too old, or just unwilling to take up the mantle. So they had packed their bags, said their goodbyes, and left, leaving Lucy behind. She had agreed to stay and send word as soon as she heard anything about the guild. For a little bit, she had considered joining another guild, but she couldn't bring herself to. Training by herself was out of the question as well. Despite being on one of Fairy Tail's strongest teams, she knew that she was the weakest link, and Natsu often was responsible for keeping her alive.

Part of her reluctance to leave had to do with Aquarius, she admitted, watching Plue balance shakily on the benches like a balance beam. The grief felt so raw that she didn't want to leave the town that had become her home. So it was easy for her to speak up when they asked for a volunteer to stay and look after the destroyed guild hall and keep track of everyone who had gone their separate ways.

Sitting there on the benches, she sighed. While the decision to stay had been made almost instantly, she hadn't figured out how she would manage her rent problem. Lucy knew that she had a bit saved up that she could dig into, but it would run out soon enough. Perhaps she would move to a smaller apartment. She would have to get a job somewhere in Magnolia, or perhaps she could finish her book and find a publisher to help bring in money…

Her musings were interrupted by a group of official looking people, headed by a man who she recognized as the mayor. Stopping at what had once been the entrance to the guild's courtyard, he glared at her. "You are trespassing on town property. Remove yourself, and your…pet."

"Plue's not my pet," she snapped, gathering him in her arms as he shivered. "He's a Celestial Spirit. And this is Fairy Tail's land."

"It _was_ Fairy Tail's," the mayor said. "But given that your guild no longer exists and the considerable damage that was done to the town because of your guild, we are confiscating the property as payment."

"That wasn't our fault!" Lucy cried, dismissing Plue. "And Fairy Tail will re-form in the future! Please, don't take our guild hall from us again!"

His glare got worse. "Ms. Heartfilia, you have no rights in this situation. Unless you can purchase this property from us, we will take it."

Lucy clenched her fist. "I don't have the money," she admitted softly. "But I'll make you a deal."

"What kind of deal could you offer that would be worth this property?" the mayor asked, scanning her with disdain. "Your performance in the Grand Magic Games was…uninspiring to say the least."

Cheeks burning, Lucy said. "Fairy Tail used to do jobs for you, right? I'll do those jobs for you. Let Fairy Tail keep the property and rebuild the guild hall so the guild has a place to return to, and you will have me. Any task you need me to do, whether it's running errands or something you would normally send out to a guild, you have me to do. Assign a cash value to the property and the rebuilding. Whatever you would normally pay for the jobs if you were hiring them out to someone, take that off the debt owed by the guild when I repay it by doing a task. I'll need to have a budget for food, but that's it."

"Why would I want to enter into this deal? I could easily give this space to another guild and not have to bother with the rebuilding."

"Because you don't have to find anyone else," she said firmly, drawing on her education as her father's heir. "I'm right here, and you have me for as long as it takes for me to pay off the debt. And in the end, you'll get Fairy Tail back. All for the low price of a new guild building and my upkeep."

"Your upkeep would be added to your debt," the mayor said. "If I were to take you up on this deal though, I would need it in writing, and something in collateral."

"Have your people draw it up, and I'll be over to sign it tomorrow," Lucy said immediately. "And as collateral…the most valuable things I have are my keys."

"They will do," the mayor said icily. "You do know that a single failure to report when summoned will result in the forfeiture of both your keys and the guild property. Are you willing to face those consequences?"

"For Fairy Tail? I'll take those odds." Lucy knew that she was taking a risk in binding her keys in the contract, but she knew that above all else, she would protect her keys with every fiber of her being. If the mayor thought that requiring them as collateral would make her back down…_he doesn't realize that for me, putting my keys at risk is just as powerful a motivator as threatening a member of Fairy Tail._ She knew she wasn't as physically strong as Natsu and Erza, but like all Fairy Tail members, her desire to protect her family made her stronger than anything she faced when she was fighting for them. If her keys were on the line, then anyone who tried to take them for her would pay dearly. Even if it was the mayor himself.

He looked at her oddly, but moved away, saying: "Be at my office at nine tomorrow morning. As soon as you sign the contract, reconstruction will begin and your contract starts. All the shopkeepers in Magnolia will be instructed to bill your purchases to your debt with the town. Payment of your personal debt will be separate from the guild's debt. At the moment the guild master appears, you are relieved from the guild's debt and are responsible for your personal debt. In the meantime, you are not allowed to take any other jobs beside the ones given by the town. Are you still willing to sign this contract?"

"Fairy Tail went to war for me, I will do _whatever_ I can for my guild." Lucy said firmly. "I'll be there at eight fifty-nine."

"I look forward to working with you, Ms. Heartfilia."

"As do I."

*****Okay, so I lied. I'm sorry. I was going to not post until the 27th, but I'm too impatient. So here it is, the first chapter of the new story. This one is ****_dark_****, so be prepared for lots of angst. Some of you may be angry/confused about what Lucy's doing, but I promise you, she's got this. Just hang in there, more will be explained soon. I would love to hear whatever you guys have to say about this, so feel free to let me know. Second chapter will be out Monday, April 20th.*****


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

As the mayor walked away, Lucy willed herself to keep her calm demeanor in place until he was out of sight. She was also struggling to keep her zodiac gates closed. She could feel a certain spirit throwing his full strength at his gate, but he wasn't allowed to argue with her until the mayor was gone.

Finally, she released her hold on his gate and he appeared immediately, wearing Loke's clothing instead of Leo's suit. Even though she had first met him as Loke, Lucy had become accustomed to seeing his as Leo, the leader of the zodiacs, powerful and dignified in the crisp suit, not the flirty playboy that she associated with Fairy Tail's Loke. In a way though, the change was comforting, because it reminded her that even though it seemed like none of her nakama were there, one would always be by her side, no matter what.

"Lucy, what did you just do?" Loke roared.

"I protected the guild. When everyone comes back, they will have a home to come back to." Lucy planted her hands on her hips. "Don't yell at me for that."

"You just bet your keys! How are any of us supposed to be happy about that? Did you even think about what we would feel?"

Lucy glared at him. "If I ever reached the point where my keys would be forfeit, I would already be dead. I plan on answering every summons even if I can't move."

"It's just a building Lucy! Your guild mates are still alive and well. You've lost the building before, but you can get it back just as easily."

"It's _not_ just a building!" Lucy screamed. "It's a home for all of us! It's worth just as much as one of my nakama. And I'll give everything I have to keep this building standing. Who knows when the guild will be re-formed."

"Who do you expect to do that?" Loke hissed. "Makarov's gone; has been. Anyone who didn't leave right away won't do it. Who's left to become guild master?"

"Erza might come back and do it for a while," Lucy said stubbornly. "But I think that Laxus will come back after a bit and lead the guild. He had planned to do it before, and I think he would do it again."

"Laxus disappeared."

Shrugging, Lucy looked at the ruins before her. "He'll come back. Even when Master banished him he came back."

Loke shook his head, sighing. She knew he wondered how she could have so much faith in her nakama, even she wondered at times. But Fairy Tail was her home; she had fought to protect it before, and she would fight to keep it again. "I'm going to need your help," she said, looking at his tense form next to her.

"With what? Suicide?" he was so angry his tone was completely flat.

"Training, idiot." Lucy snapped, shoving him. "I need you and Capricorn, every day, to get me into a shape where I can handle anything that gets thrown at me. Who knows what jobs they'll assign me? And if they plan on me dying from this, well, I just won't give in without a fight."

"Don't you care about what happens to us?" he murmured, looking at her. "Don't do this just because of what happened with Aquarius."

"It's not just because of her," Lucy whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I know that I can do this, and I couldn't live with myself if I let the building go to another Twilight Ogre or the like. So I'll fight with everything to stay alive and keep the building. Don't worry, I care so much about all of you. This way we'll definitely get to spend lots of time together!" she chirped, trying to look on the bright side.

"Lucy…" Loke's voice trailed off. "I don't trust him. He's trying to make you back off, and he won't stop even when you sign the contract."

"I don't trust him either," Lucy admitted, shivering slightly. "But I faced one of Tartarus's demons. If I can do that, I can do this."

Loke hung his head. "If this is what you want, I will speak with Capricorn. We will devise a training schedule. Do you wish to start as soon as your meeting is done?"

"Of course," Lucy said. "But remember, my schedule could be a bit hectic so something that could be easily adjusted might be best."

"Whatever you want, princess," Loke said with a smile, ruffling her hair. "You're doing much better than I thought you would be."

Lucy nodded, leaning into his caress. "In a way, this is a good thing. I have an occupation, and a reason to train. By the time everyone comes back, I'll be able to stand with them on an equal footing."

"I better get going," Loke said, removing his hand. "Capricorn will want to spend the entire day planning your new schedule for maximum efficiency. I'm sure Virgo will be along later on to talk about new living arrangements and if she could help in any way with rebuilding the guild hall."

"I'll speak with the mayor about it. Perhaps my debt would be lessened if you guys wouldn't mind helping with the debris removal." Lucy nodded assuredly. "Thanks for everything Loke."

"Anything for my Princess and nakama," he said, bowing grandly. "But I must go now."

"See you tomorrow."

"From what I can guess, it might be bright and early. Get to bed early tonight."

"I will. And thank you again." Lucy sighed as she headed back to her apartment. It seemed as if she had just gotten things straightened out after the mess caused by Tartarus. Now it was looking as if she'd have to pack.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

_A year and a half later._

Freed knocked on the door in the hallway leading to the locker rooms. "Lucy, are you there?" He waited a minute for a response before rapping again. "Lucy, I'm going to open the door."

Carefully pushing open the door with a caution developed from years of being on a team with Evergreen, Freed pushed into the room, realizing that even though the blonde mage had asked him to put runes around it months ago he had never seen the inside. It was surprisingly bare, like the storage room it was supposed to be. Shelves filled with neatly arranged items took up most of the space, although a large portion of the wall was obscured with a massive map of Fiore. The bed was shoved up against the wall under it, barely fitting. The only other evidence that a person lived in the room was the battered dresser and the neatly organized desk that stood next to the bed.

Moving further into the room, Freed said: "Lucy?" There was a messenger from the mayor waiting for her at the bar. Mira was busy with the noon rush, so she had asked Freed to take the message to the girl.

A slight movement caught his eye, and he stared at the gap between the bed and the desk. Lucy was there, legs tucked under her and head resting on her chest. _She must have fallen asleep_, Freed realized, reaching out to shake her awake and flinching when his hand came away red.

It was then he realized that the red patterns on her shirt were actually bloodstains, and her hand was resting on the bed next to a box of fresh bandages, with a pile of discarded, bloody bandages sitting next to her. Now he could smell the blood, a sharp metallic smell that made him gag with its strength. From the looks of the ground around her and her clothes, she had multiple wounds, and deep ones at that. Her pants were covered with blood, and some was even streaked in her hair.

_She's not asleep_, Freed thought in horror as he looked at the bloody girl in front of him. _The blood loss…she passed out_. Coming out of his stupor he reached for her arms, trying to find out where exactly she was bleeding from.

"Hey Freed, Mira wants to know if everything's…_shit_," Gajeel's voice came from somewhere just outside the door, and Freed could hear the dragon slayer gagging, probably from the overwhelming smell. "What the hell is happening in there?"

"Get Wendy," Freed said, realizing that her arms were practically in tatters. _Oh god, is that __**bone**__?_ "Lucy's hurt."

"Kid's not here," Gajeel said, his voice fading. "I'm getting Mira."

Leaving Lucy's arms be for a minute while he checked the rest of her over, Freed was increasingly horrified at the extent of her injuries. There wasn't an unbroken patch of skin on the girl.

"Freed, Gajeel said you needed me? Something about Lu-oh my!" Mira's footsteps stumbled into a run as she smelt the blood, her beautiful face contorting as she knelt next to Freed. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Freed said, passing her clean bandages. "But she's bleeding from just about everywhere. It looks like she passed out from blood loss."

"Do you know how long she's been here?" Mira asked softly, starting to wrap Lucy's left arm in fresh bandages, which were almost immediately soaked with blood.

"No," Freed whispered, finding deeper cuts on her abdomen. "She doesn't seem to be clotting at all either."

"That messenger's making a fuss over seeing Lucy." Gajeel's voice was filled with disgust as he stood in the doorway. "Can I kick him out? People are starting to get annoyed."

Mira nodded, her eyes never leaving the blonde in front of her. "Tell him Lucy's too injured to go anywhere today. But send Jet for Porlyusica first. And after that, see if Macao can get Wendy on the communications lacrima. She's out with Lisanna on a job."

"Got it," Gajeel's steps headed away from the room, but Freed found his wrist caught in a bloody hand.

"_Don't send him away_," Lucy rasped, and he could hear the pain in her voice. She swallowed with a grimace, and said: "I need to see him."

"Lucy, you need to get to the infirmary and see Porlyusica so we can get this bleeding stopped," Mira said gently, continuing to wrap Lucy's arm. "If you go anywhere else now, you could die."

"I _have_ to see him," Lucy insisted, letting go of Freed's wrist to brush her hand across her keys. A golden flash blinded them for a minute, but Freed found himself being shouldered aside by one of Lucy's spirits.

"Princess, I told you that you would need help with your bandages," the spirit said as she reached for a fresh bandage. "Punishment?"

"For me maybe," Lucy said, chuckling weakly. "But we need to get moving Virgo. They've sent a messenger, and I don't know how long he's been there."

"Bandages and clothes then," Virgo said, hands moving faster than even Mira's.

"We'll do clothes later," Lucy said, wincing slightly. "We have some time after we meet with the messenger. Bandages, messenger, _then_ clothes."

"You're not going anywhere," Mira said, fixing Lucy with a glare. "Not unless it's the infirmary."

"I have to Mira," Lucy whispered, sharing a look with Virgo. "I don't really have a choice."

"Surely they'll understand since you're injured," Mira reasoned, but Lucy shook her head.

"Doesn't matter."

"Lucy, if this is about money, don't worry. The Raijinshu would be willing to help you out until you're better." Freed said softly. "You fed and sheltered us when we stopped by without letting us do anything for you."

"You can't help with this Freed," Lucy said, shifting so Virgo could start wrapping bandages around her torso. "I have to go myself."

"Surely Laxus could help then?" Mira tried, finishing Lucy's left arm. "He can explain and come up with a suitable arrangement."

"He's aware of the situation," Lucy grunted, moving one of her legs out from under her so that Mira could start there. "In fact, he asked me to sign the contract."

"Then he can explain that you can't go," Freed said definitively, jumping up and heading for the door.

*****Holy time skip Batman. **

**So, several of you probably wanted to see how Lucy trained...yeah, about that. Sorry. But this fic deals more with the consequences of her contract with the mayor than it does with her training arc, so I didn't feel the need to focus on it. In brief, through the year and a half that I skipped, she's been training with her spirits and learning from experience on missions. Oh, and in contrast to ****_Strength of Spirit_****, I have included her water magic in this one.**

**Other than that...this chapter might be a little confusing, but we're seeing the situation from Freed's eyes and with the information he has. The next few chapters will make things clearer, so just be patient. It was either be a little bit confusing or post a seriously ****_long_**** chapter. **

**Oh, and this chapter especially is dedicated to my beta, because she's the most awesome sister I have. She's also the only, but details...*****


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

Paying no attention to the odd stares he was getting, Freed pushed through the boisterous crowd on the main floor of the guild as he headed for the stairs. Gajeel called out to him as he passed the bar.

"The guy won't leave, can I throw him out?"

"No, I'm getting Laxus to explain things," Freed called, and then stopped short as he bumped into Ever on the stairs.

Her eyes went wide as saucers. "Freed, why are you covered in blood?"

"Not mine," he said, slipping past her. "Go see Mira in Lucy's room; I think she'll need your help."

Reaching Laxus's door, he burst inside instead of knocking as he normally would. His leader and guild master looked up in shock, eyes narrowing as he saw and smelled the blood on Freed's coat. "What's going on? Is everyone okay?"

"Nobody's hurt," Freed said in a rush, and then said: "Well, Lucy is, but I don't know why. Anyway, what contract did you ask her to sign?"

"I didn't ask Lucy to sign any contract," Laxus growled, standing up. "Why is Lucy's blood all over your coat?"

Freed ignored the tone of the question, continuing on with his questions. "She said that you asked her to sign a contract. I think it's with the mayor, because she mentioned it when she said that she had to meet with the messenger the mayor sent."

"Stop," Laxus growled, lightning crackling around his hands before he got himself under control. "You have two minutes to explain why you are covered in Lucy's blood, why she's bleeding in the first place, and what this has to do with a contract with the mayor."

Taking a deep breath, Freed collected himself. "I went to tell Lucy that a messenger from the mayor was here to see her, and I found her passed out from blood loss in her room. When I was bandaging her, I must have gotten her blood on me. She's conscious now, and insisting she has to meet with the messenger, and mentioned a contract when we asked her why. Apparently you asked her to sign one."

Understanding dawned in Laxus's eyes. "Ah, I know what she's talking about now. When the guild was reopened, we were in debt. The mayor told me that we could just do some work for him for free until it was all paid off, but he wanted a single mage to be on call all the time so that way he'd be sure to get the help when he needed it. I guess Lucy did some mage work for the town while we were gone, so he suggested her and I agreed. He did say something about some paperwork to be filled out, but I never saw anything of it."

"So she's doing jobs for the mayor? I'll just explain that she can't come today and we'll send a substitute." Freed left the office feeling much calmer. Lucy wasn't out of the woods yet; she had lost so much blood, but Porlyusica was on the way, and now that they were getting the situation with the mayor under control, she wouldn't have to worry about that.

Reaching the main floor of the guild hall, Freed pushed his way towards the bar where the messenger sat, but by the time he got there, Lucy had appeared in front of the man. Shocked, Freed stopped a few feet away, taking in the bloodstains and newly bloodied bandages and wondered how she was still standing. _How did she manage to convince Mira and Ever that she should come?_ Freed thought, seeing neither woman nearby.

"You nearly didn't make it there," the messenger said, leaning casually against the bar, a glass in his hand. "I was getting worried."

"I think you got your words mixed up," Lucy said, her legs trembling but the set of her jaw was determined. "You hardly look worried. I would call it disappointed."

"Perhaps," the man agreed, taking a sip of his drink. "But I was thinking that this might be the last time I got to come out here for you."

Lucy shook her head, glaring at him. "A year and a half of this, and you still believe that there's a chance that I wouldn't come? And here I thought that you were starting to get me."

"You never know," the man snickered. "You didn't look so hot last night."

"I'd have to be dead to miss this," Lucy snapped. "There's too much at stake."

"Well then, why are you standing around wasting time with me?" he drained his glass and looked at the watch on his wrist. "Time's passing. And in the state you're in, it might take you the entire hour to get down the street."

"Watch me," Lucy said, turning away from the bar, but Freed moved to intercept her.

"Lucy, it's fine," he said, trying to put a hand on her arm without hurting her. "Someone else can go for you. Laxus explained what's going on."

The blonde glared at him. "It doesn't work that way Freed. Now get out of my way."

She made another attempt to move past him, but he drew his sword and flung a rune barrier around her, keeping her from moving. The normally boisterous guild hall grew silent, the only sound remaining being the messenger's laughter as he watched the scene in front of him.

*****Hi guys! Not too much to say about this one, but some pieces of the puzzle are becoming clearer. I know it may be a bit confusing, but just bear with me. Once I'm done with school, I should be able to finish up ****_Still Standing_**** and then start posting faster.*****


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

Lucy glared at Freed from within the barrier. "Let me out Freed," she threatened lowly.

"I can't do that Lucy," he said evenly, meeting her eyes. "You're too hurt to go on a job. We'll send someone else."

"That won't work," she yelled, banging against the barrier. "I told you that already. Now let me go!"

Freed turned to the messenger. "If you could explain what kind of job the mayor needs done, we'll be happy to send the appropriate mage."

The messenger smirked at him. "Didn't you hear her?" he snickered. "It doesn't work that way. _She's_ the one who has to go."

Pivoting back to look at Lucy, Freed was surprised by the despair that crowded out the pain as she beat weakly against the rune barrier. "I can't let you go Lucy," he murmured softly. "Stop fighting and rest until Porlyusica gets here."

"Loke, I need you!" she called, and the lion spirit materialized in front of Freed. His fist lighting up, he looked sadly at Freed.

"I don't want to do this, but I have to," he murmured, visibly steeling himself for the fight that both of them knew was coming.

"Lucy!" Laxus's voice came from overhead, and Freed looked up to see him leaning on the railing of the second floor. "I thought you valued this guild more than this. Report to my office immediately so we can discuss why you threatened to harm a guildmate who has only been looking out for you."

Around him, the guild was silent for a moment, and then Lucy screamed, anguish and pain cutting into everyone watching the scene. When the scream ended, she whispered: "Loke,"

Immediately, the spirit's face was transformed into an agony that Freed had never seen on a person's face before, stronger than anyone who had been placed under one of his pain runes. Disappearing, he reappeared inside the rune barrier behind Lucy.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, drawing a small knife from somewhere on her person. "But you know why I have to."

"Don't apologize Lucy," Loke said gently, kissing the top of her head. "It's not your fault."

"Thank you," she said softly before she drew the knife down her chest, piercing the bandages.

Before anyone could move, three more golden flashes illuminated the guild hall, and Freed found himself looking at Capricorn, Virgo, and Cancer. As he stepped towards the rune barrier, Capricorn moved to intercept him.

"You will not interfere," the spirit said coldly. "You have done enough damage."

Head spinning, Freed tried to see what was happening in the rune barrier, but the three spirits obscured his view. But just as suddenly as they appeared, they disappeared, and he could see clearly.

Loke had moved to sit on the floor, cradling Lucy's bloody body. Her bandages lay around her, the knife discarded next to her hand. She wasn't moving, her chest barely rising and falling.

"Her keys!" screamed the messenger, moving towards the rune cage. "Where are her keys?"

With a flick of his wrist, Freed disabled the barrier and reached for Lucy, but Loke held her more securely. "Don't touch her," he growled.

"She needs medical attention," Freed said desperately, reaching out for the girl. Sighing, Loke kissed her forehead and laid her on the ground as he stood.

"I made her a promise," he said softly, his fists lighting up again.

He was about to strike, and Freed raised his sword to counter his blow, but a bright flash blinded him, causing him to look away. When his eyes cleared, Lucy's body was no longer on the floor.

"What have you done?" Loke snarled. "You stupid fools, what have you _done_?"

Nobody answered, confused as to what had just happened. Then Gajeel's voice rang out. "Mira, Ever, Levy, and Cana, Laxus needs you upstairs in the infirmary if there's a chance of saving her. He can't leave to get Porlyusica unless someone's keeping her stable."

Levy and Cana bolted for the stairs. Loke looked as if he was going to follow, but Freed flicked his sword and threw up a rune barrier around him. "You're not going to stop them," he said softly. "Within the barrier, you cannot close your gate either."

The messenger made to move towards the infirmary, but Freed flicked his sword again, and the man was trapped. "You're not going anywhere until I know what's going on."

Looking around the guild, he saw that everyone had remained gathered around the place where Lucy had been. Sighing, Freed said: "Elfman, go find your sister and Ever. They're probably in Lucy's room, although I don't know what she did to them."

"Virgo just tied them up," Loke added quietly from his rune cage. "They're otherwise fine."

"Good. Get them up to the infirmary as soon as they're loose. The rest of you, go home for the day. I'm closing the guild until we can get to the bottom of this, since I can't move these two to a more private place. Only the Strauss siblings, Levy, Gajeel, Cana, and the Raijinshu are allowed to remain. Stay close to your communications lacrima; we'll let you know when the guild hall reopens. And if anyone can get in touch with Wendy and Lisanna, tell them to get back here as soon as possible."

As the crowd dispersed, Freed looked around for Bickslow. Finding his teammate near the stairs, Freed asked: "Can you guard the infirmary door? Until we figure out what's going on, I want access to her controlled."

Once everyone was out of the guild and the two women in the infirmary with Lucy, Freed sat down and looked at his two prisoners. Loke was sitting on the floor in the middle of a pool of Lucy's blood, leaning against the barrier. His clothing, normally pristine, was covered in bloodstains.

"We could move you so you're out of the blood," Freed offered quietly. "And get you fresh clothes."

"I'll wear these clothes until the day I fade," Loke said stubbornly. "You should see how much damage you've done."

Sighing, Freed turned to the mayor's messenger, who was sitting on a chair that had gotten trapped in the cage with him. "Can you explain what this is all about?"

"Where are her keys?" the man asked immediately, eyes fixed on the infirmary door.

"You don't get them until the hour's up." Loke snapped, eyes filled with hatred. "And that's only if she's still alive then."

"She'll break the contract either way," the messenger said confidently. "Leo the Lion, return to the spirit world."

Loke laughed bitterly. "You have no power over me. I am in this world on my own power, bound by an agreement made with Lucy before that contract was signed. And you're wrong. There is one way the contract can be nullified without breaking it. She made sure to have it written in because she had a feeling something like this would happen."

"The death clause?" the messenger gasped. "If she dies though, it would be suicide. The contract would still be broken."

*****In response to last chapter's reviews: by all means everyone, SHOOT THE MESSENGER. (Just not me, pretty please?) I know I'm being a bit mean with the cliffhangers, but this is a really long scene that couldn't all go in one chapter. So bear with me, we're about...halfway through this scene.**

**Other news...I now have time to fight with this story, hopefully allowing me to wrap it up in a timely manner, which means: faster updates! But not yet.*****


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**

"Not suicide," Loke said softly. "Her wounds were preexisting. Even if she hadn't removed the bandages, there was still a very good chance that she would have died of blood loss. Her contract will remain unbroken and the keys will pass as stated in her will."

"Could someone explain what the hell is going on?" Freed snapped, interrupting the exchange. "You two keep referencing a contract, and it has to do with Lucy's keys."

Glaring at him, Loke said: "She's shouldered the guild's debt since Makarov disbanded it. You stupid, uncaring fools haven't cared enough to notice how much she's been suffering for you. Lucy's the only reason you had a guild building to come back to, and what did she get as a reward? Laxus tied her to the debt again, not even caring about what the terms were."

"What were the terms?" Freed asked shakily. He remembered Lucy during that year. She had seemed a bit battered from time to time, but had told them it was just training accidents. _Why would she lie to us? Why wouldn't she ask for help?_

"If the mage does not answer the summons by meeting the messenger within half an hour of his arrival and appearing in the mayor's office no later than an hour after meeting with the messenger, the items pledged as collateral are forfeited and the total debt remaining is to be paid in full at once. However, if the mage fails to answer the summons because of death, the items pledged as collateral are not forfeited and the contract is nullified and personal items are disposed of as stated in the mage's will. Only a failure to answer because of death prevents forfeiture." Loke stated quietly.

Freed thought through the complicated language Loke had quoted and arrived at a troubling conclusion. Staring at Loke with horror, he choked out: "Did she pledge…" _Oh please Mavis, tell me no…_

Chuckling the messenger said: "Yep. Her keys were the only thing valuable enough, so she put those up against her ability to meet the terms of the contract. If she lives past the hour, she has to hand them over to the mayor."

Swiftly rising, Loke slammed his fist against the rune barrier. "You unfeeling _monster_," he hissed. "You saw her do the impossible for her keys and this guild and have the gall to sit there and _laugh_ because she was willing to do anything to protect her friends. If it weren't for her orders against killing anyone, you would be dead by now. And if her keys pass to the mayor, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to keep her spirits from killing you."

The messenger paled slightly, but sneered at the enraged lion. "If you do that, you'd become fallen stars, exiled from the heavens."

"I know that quite well," Loke said softly. "I was once a fallen star, but Lucy saved me from death. For her, I would fall again and again, as many times as she needed. And all of us feel the same way. No other mage could ever match her."

"Where are her keys?" Freed asked softly.

"I have them with me," Loke said coolly. "Upon her death, as long as the contract remains unbroken, they will pass to Yukino as stated in her will."

"Loke," Freed whispered. "How bad was it?"

"Like you cared," the lion snorted. "It wasn't bad at first, but it's gotten steadily worse when they realized that she wasn't going down easily. Last night was the worst though. I'm not sure that your team could have made it out without minor injuries at best. But none of you have any rights when it comes to her. The signs were all there, and you ignored her. Gajeel, Laxus…they could smell the blood on her. And the rest of you have eyes. Did you ever think to ask exactly _why_ she was limping? Or why she appeared at night, when everyone else was in bed, offering to make tea or a snack? You were up late doing work, so what was _she_ doing?"

"We'll find a way to make it up to her," Freed said brokenly. "We know now."

"You're the reason she did what she did today," Loke snapped. "If it weren't for you, she wouldn't be lying upstairs right now, coming closer to breaking the contract with every second because you had to interfere. And not just once, but twice."

"You were going to let her die," Freed snapped at the lion. "At least she has a chance of living now." He had heard Laxus teleport out and return, so Porlyusica had to be there by now.

"What type of life will she have?" Loke asked bitterly. "_If_ she lives, she'll lose all of her keys, the only nakama she has left."

"But she'll be alive."

"She was willing to die. I wouldn't be surprised if she hated you for forcing her to live."

The messenger laughed. "Live or die, she's not going to keep her keys either way. Her contract's up in fifteen minutes."

Freed started. "Is there any way to fulfill the contract other than Lucy arriving at the mayor's office in the next fifteen minutes?"

"Nope," the messenger said cheerfully, drawing the word out. "Not unless you can come up with the money she owes and get it paid in those fifteen minutes."

"I'll pay," said a hoarse voice from overhead. Freed looked up and saw Laxus standing at the top of the railing.

"She's not out of the woods, but Porlyusica thinks she might make it," he said tiredly, answering the question before it could be asked. "How much is it?" He looked terrible, covered with bloodstains and worry etched into his face. Not since he had inhaled the ethernano had he looked this bad.

"Ten million," the messenger said, checking his watch. "I doubt you'll be able to come up with that now if you couldn't then."

"You're too mouthy," Laxus growled, teleporting down to stand next to the barrier. "The guild may not be able to come up with that much money, but _I_ can. Before, I was going to keep my personal money separate from the guild's because it would lead to potentially difficult situations. However, from today's events, I can guess that was a mistake."

"Nobody could make that happen in fifteen minutes," the messenger scoffed. "It takes ten minutes to get to the mayor's office from here, by the time you're admitted into his presence. By the time the situation is explained to him, time will have run out."

"Listen here, punk," Laxus said, slamming his fist against the table. "I can move pretty quickly when I'm roused, in case you missed it earlier. And given that I have a guild member upstairs who tried to commit _suicide_ in the middle of the guild and is currently _fighting for her life_ because of a situation I put her in, I would say I'm pretty damn _roused_ right now. I'm not really sure what exactly brought us to this point, but it all seems tied to this damn contract, so I'm going to settle it once and for all. So Freed's going to let you out, and you're going to stop mouthing off like you own the place. You and I are going to go to the mayor and destroy this damn thing so I can come back and figure out what the hell is going on. Are we clear?"

"Laxus," Freed said softly, causing the other man to look at him. "Take the money from the Raijinshu's account. The others will understand once they hear what's going on. We owe her for all she's done for us."

"From mine too," Gajeel chimed from where he sat near the door. Nodding, Laxus glared at the messenger, waiting for his confirmation.

The messenger nodded, his cocky attitude gone. Freed dispelled the runes, and Laxus seized the man's arm and they disappeared in a flash of lightning.

Looking at Loke, Freed said softly: "I'm sorry…I should have known."

"You're right," he said sadly, resting against the rune barrier again. "All of you should have known. What else would cause her to withdraw so much from the guild she loved, wear clothes completely unlike what she normally would chose, and have unexplained injuries? Each and every person in the guild betrayed her. We all tried to help as best as we could, but she kept us back as much as possible, not wanting to…"

He stopped talking suddenly, swallowing hard. Gajeel spoke from where he was sitting by the doors, ready to head off any curious passersby or returning guild members. "Bunny Girl got hurt bad during the battle, didn't she?"

Loke glanced at him. "That's not for me to say," he said quietly. "But between everyone leaving her and this, I wouldn't be surprised if she hates you if she survives this. Don't mistake me, I never wanted her to die. But with the hand she was dealt…I knew why it had to happen. I'm glad that there's a chance she'll live, but I don't know if she will be."

"I wouldn't blame her," Freed said softly, looking up towards the infirmary door where Bickslow and Elfman stood vigil. "We practically cut her open ourselves."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

Levy sat in the chair next to the bed where the blonde lay unmoving, eyes fixed on the still form. For once, her ever present book rested on the table next to the bed, closed and ignored.

_Lucy_, she thought, looking at the blood smears on Lucy's face, bright against her friend's pale skin. _What happened to make you do this?_

Looking back over the days since she had returned, and even before, when they left after the Tartarus battle, she couldn't deny that Lucy had changed. She had known it at the time, but hadn't said anything to anyone but Gajeel. He had agreed with her, but they figured it had to do with the loss of Natsu and her other friends. It would be better when everyone returned, right?

_Wrong_, Levy thought, seeing the blood caked in her friend's hair. _She was worse, and it kept getting worse._

Seeing Lucy after that year had been a shock. The girl was subdued and spent most of her time either working at the bar with Mira or locked up in one of the upstairs offices doing paperwork for Laxus. Lucy had murmured something about needing to work to pay off her living expenses, and Levy had nodded sympathetically, moving towards Gajeel as he waved a job flyer at her. Everyone was working now, trying to earn enough money to rent an apartment or fix up their house after a year of neglect. If Lucy wasn't going on jobs herself, she must be waiting for her team to come back.

Her clothing reflected the changes in her personality. Instead of the relatively revealing outfits she had previously worn, she covered more skin than anyone else: long sleeves, pants. Even gloves and scarves occasionally, Levy realized, thinking over the last six months. Seeing her like this now, asleep in the infirmary, the bluenette realized that the signs that something was wrong had been there all along. She just hadn't bothered to dig deeper to find out what was wrong.

Shoulders shaking as she brought her hand to her mouth to stifle her sobs, Levy felt the tears sliding down her cheeks. She had failed her best friend. _If I had asked, would she have tried to…?_

The infirmary door opened, and Levy's head jerked up, hands moving to wipe away the tears, but she relaxed when she saw that it was only Gajeel. He looked panicked, and his voice was rougher than usual as he whispered: "Is she…?"

"She's still with us," Levy said, motioning to the chair next to her. "Come sit with me?"

Dropping down next to her, the iron dragon slayer glanced at the girl on the bed. "When I smelled your tears, I thought…"

Startled, Levy shook her head emphatically. "I was just…Gajeel, I should have _said_ something? Why did I let her tell me that the injuries were training accidents, or that she was trying a new style? If I'm her friend, how could I just let all of that evidence go?"

Crying again, Levy felt Gajeel's arm pulling her roughly into his side. "We all failed her Shrimp. I could smell the blood on her…it never seemed to go away. But nobody asked…"

"What's happening downstairs?" Levy asked, sniffling as she tried to get her tears under control. "Did anyone find out _why_?"

"She had some kind of contract with the mayor to do whatever work he needed done." Gajeel growled as he glanced at the infirmary door. "Bunny Girl pledged her keys as collateral. If she broke the contract by not showing up when he called, she lost them and the guild."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Gajeel sighed. "Bunny made a deal with the mayor back when we all left. She took on the guild's debt and he kept the building here for us. Apparently, he's been pushing her harder and harder to break the contract, but she kept going on jobs and didn't say anything to the rest of us. Last night she had the mission where she got hurt this badly, and he sent a messenger for her this morning."

"Couldn't someone else go?" Levy whispered, looking wide-eyed at Lucy's sleeping form. "She couldn't go like that."

"I know," Gajeel said grimly. "But the contract specifies her. Nobody else could go. When we tried to stop her from leaving, she took the only path that would save her keys from going to the mayor when she failed to show up. Loke says that if she died before the contract was broken by her not showing up, her will would override the contract, and her keys would go to Yukino like she wanted."

_She was willing to die to protect her keys_, Levy thought, reaching out to gently straighten the blanket draped lightly over Lucy. "Since she can't show up…will she lose them?"

"Laxus went to pay off the guild's debt, releasing her from the contract," Gajeel said, eyes softening as he watched the small girl fuss needlessly over her friend. "He said that there was a good chance she'd pull through."

Levy nodded. "Porlyusica thinks that she has a fighting chance. She's not out of the woods yet, and if Wendy doesn't get here soon, she'll have scars, but we probably won't lose her at this stage. We had to sedate her though…" her voice dropped to a whisper. "None of us knew if she would try to hurt herself if she came to so we're keeping her knocked out until she heals enough that she's not going to be in immediate danger."

"She's probably in a ton of pain too," Gajeel muttered, looking at the prone form. "Keeping her out of it probably is best in the long run. Where are the others?"

"I would guess Cana went to go drink herself into a stupor. Mira's probably in the kitchens stress baking. Porlyusica…I think she's in Laxus's office resting. Or hiding. She said she'd be back soon to check on Lu-chan. Ever…I don't know where she disappeared to."

"Elfman's vanished as well," Gajeel said cheekily, ruffling her hair. "Wonder what that means." He snickered quietly at something, causing Levy to look up at him.

"What's so funny?" she wondered, reaching up to brush his hair out of his face.

"Bickslow's sitting on the other side of the door and heard that last comment. He muttered something about saving that little detail for ammunition later." Gajeel chuckled again before gently picking her up. "Come on Shrimp. You're exhausted. I know you don't feel it, but your body's telling me it's time you got to bed. Just lie down here, and I'll keep an eye on Bunny Girl for you."

Before Levy could protest, she was tucked into the bed next to Lucy's and Gajeel was pulling the blankets up around her. When she did open her mouth, she was interrupted by a yawn. With a chuckle, he gently kissed her forehead before settling down on the chair she had previously occupied. "Get some sleep Shrimp, you've had a hard morning."

*****So, some brief announcements here. First: new chapters more often! My beta and I have decided that even though we're not done, I've moved far enough ahead, and it looks like my writer's block has finished, so we can safely speed up posting. **

**Second: yeah, I know this chapter's fluff. But the angst will return NEXT chapter (on Monday) when Laxus goes toe-to-toe with the mayor. **

**Third: I have a new project. Too many ideas, too little time. The good thing about this one is that it's (slightly) shorter than my usual stories. It's going to be called ****_The Ballad of Lucy Heartfilia_**** and will be based on the song "The Ballad of Sara Berry" by Ryan Scott Oliver. That's all I'm going to share for now, but look out for either more details or the first chapter sometime in the future!*****


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

To say that lightning travelling unnerved people was to claim that some people were slightly uncomfortable sharing a room with a lion. However, Laxus reflected as he landed in the mayor's office, the messenger was taking it worse than most people. The man was pale, shaking, and looked as if he was about to vomit. As soon as he could, Laxus released his hold on the man's collar and focused his attention on the mayor.

If the man was unnerved by the lightning mage's appearance in his office, he did a good job of not showing it. Laxus watched as he smiled broadly, discreetly checking the clock on his desk and placing his arms over the name on the folder before him. "Mr. Dreyar, I wasn't expecting to see you today. How pleasant to see you. Unfortunately, I'm waiting for an appointment at the moment, but I'm sure that I have an opening later today. Why don't you go speak with my secretary? She'll fit you in at the earliest possible convenience."

A growl rumbled in Laxus's chest. The man had to know why he was there. If the timing didn't suggest it, the messenger shivering on the floor had to. But he still had the nerve to pretend that this was unexpected? It pissed him off, and his control of his temper was fraying badly.

"Did you need something right away?" the mayor asked, voice dripping with concern. "Has there been an incident with the guild? How can I help you?"

"You can cut the bullshit." Laxus was sick of the pandering, pompous…taking a deep breath, he tried to compose himself. "We both know why I'm here, so let's skip to the important bits. As you know, there isn't much time, so I'd prefer to _not_ waste it."

"I'm terribly afraid I don't know what you're talking about," the mayor said, looking injured. "Perhaps you could explain your grievances? Did the man who came with you cause a disturbance?"

"What did I say about the bullshit?" Laxus snapped, reining in his lightning just in time. "I'm here about a blonde Fairy Tail mage who is currently _fighting for her life_ because she nearly bled to death in the middle of my guild. Ring any bells?"

"Did something happen to Miss Heartfilia?" the mayor's eyes were wide with sympathy, but Laxus could smell the excitement on him. "Please know, whatever it is you need, just ask. I have grown quite…attached to her in the year and a half that she's worked with me."

"Attached to her, or her _keys_?" Laxus muttered under his breath.

The mayor's eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid I don't like the sound of your suggestion, Mr. Dreyar. Lucy has become invaluable to us here, and I am deeply concerned with her health and safety."

"If I hear one more lie come out of your mouth, I'm going to forget that I'm a guild master who has to set an example," Laxus growled, feeling his magic sparking around him. "And you can tell me all about your concern at another time. Right now though, you can just tell me how much is left on the guild's debt so I can settle her contract."

Back to his charming façade, the mayor beamed at Laxus. "I was under the impression that Fairy Tail doesn't have the money to pay off its debt. Isn't that why the lovely Lucy was contracted to perform jobs for us?"

"Fairy Tail may not have the money," Laxus said lowly. "But its members have their own savings, and feel quite indebted to Lucy for what she's done for us. The Raijinshu and our Iron Dragon Slayer in particular have offered to pay the remaining debt."

Smiling, the mayor checked his clock. If anything, his smile got even wider. "I'm afraid I cannot accept your payment, seeing as the contract is already broken. Our Lucy has failed to fulfill the terms of her contract by appearing in the time specified."

"Lucy Heartfilia nearly bled to death in the middle of Fairy Tail on her way to answer your summons," Laxus snapped. "I would think that would merit consideration for extenuating circumstances."

"She tried to kill herself," the messenger croaked, pulling himself upright. "Those aren't extenuating circumstances, but a deliberate attempt to evade the contract."

"There," the mayor said, with a shrug. "Even if I were able to grant pardon for extenuating circumstances, the girl broke the contract through her own actions. She must be held responsible."

"It wasn't a suicide attempt," Laxus growled. "None of her injuries were self-inflicted. I don't know how she managed to stand, seeing the number of injuries on her person. If we had been a moment later getting her to the infirmary and beginning emergency treatment, she would have died. There's still a chance of it."

"What a pity." The mayor shook his head. "However, since she has lived past the hour, her contract was broken and I have no choice but to pursue her for the guild's debt. Where are her keys, if I may ask?"

"Her damn spirit has them," the messenger rasped, color returning to his face. "He wouldn't let go of them until she died."

"You're not going to get them," Laxus said irritably. "What part of _settling her contract_ was unclear?"

"The part where you believed the contract could be extended at your whim," the mayor said, opening the folder on his desk. "As you can see, this has been clearly written and signed by both Lucy and I. It is legally binding, and there are no loopholes to be exploited. Lucy has broken her contract, and I must follow through."

Ignoring the contract in front of the mayor, Laxus focused on _not_ frying more of the mayor's office. After the last comments, he had lost enough control of his magic to singe several spots on the carpet and walls. When he was contained, he glared at the mayor. "I have no doubt that the contract is legally binding, but you misused it to force Lucy into a situation where she would break it. The debt payment will be accepted and she will retain her keys or there will be consequences."

Sneering, the mayor asked: "What consequences could I face upon pursuing someone who broke a binding contract with me?"

Grinning darkly, Laxus leaned against the mayor's desk. "For starters, I think the princess of Fiore might look into the near death of a person who saved the kingdom if someone mentioned it to her. Also, I'm pretty sure the new Magic Council has kept the old protection for mages forced into unfair situations by otherwise legal contracts. Lucy's spirits would be able to testify for her, and I think their testimony would be quite interesting. Admissible in court too, because they can't be controlled by their master. Not these particular spirits anyway. Of course, this all assumes that you'll still be in your office after Fairy Tail finds out what Lucy's been suffering all this time for them. We don't take very kindly to people who hurt our nakama. You saw the Grand Magic Games, right?" Laxus didn't know what the details of this contract were so much of his statement was conjecture and a massive bluff. However, when he saw the mayor nearly choke, he knew that some of it was spot on.

The mayor's face had paled, but summoned his composure quicker than Laxus expected. "I don't respond to threats, _Mr_. Dreyar."

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't a threat, _sir_," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "That was a _promise_." Lightning slipped from his finger to char an edge of the contract. "I would think very carefully about letting me pay the debt putting this contract to rest."

"Fine," the mayor spat. "Who will be paying the guild's debt? It's ten million jewels in total."

"Freed Justine, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Gajeel Redfox have authorized me to allow withdrawals from their accounts for this matter. They will be one time payments, and you will not be allowed to harass them in the future because of their involvement in this matter. The guild's debt will be divided equally among them."

"Done," the mayor said grouchily, scribbling the information on a form. "You need to sign here."

Taking the pen, Laxus scrawled his name on the line and looked at the mayor. "Is that all?"

"Not yet," the mayor said, taking out a new form. "Who will be responsible for her personal debt?"

Staring at the man, Laxus fought for control of his magic as he growled: "She had two debts that she was paying?"

"Why of course," the mayor said, shuffling through the folder with the contract. "Ever since the contract was signed, all of her purchases have been billed to the town. As soon as the guild's debt was paid off, she was to begin on her personal debt. I assume you will want to pay that off as well? Or shall we let the contract stand?"

"No," Laxus snapped. "I'll pay it. How much?"

"Three million jewels over the last year and a half," the mayor said smoothly, filling out the form. "It's quite generous of you to spend so much of your personal money for her. I'm sure you'll think of an _appropriate_ way for her to pay you back?"

The slight suggestion was all it took to snap the last bit of control Laxus had over his temper. Seizing the pen, he scribbled his name on the form and snatched the contract off his desk. "I'm going to take this with me, and you're going to stay away from Fairy Tail. If I _ever_ hear of Lucy being bothered by you, you're going to _hope_ that the Magic Council gets to you quickly. Oh, and I'm sure that Lucy was keeping her own records as to the debt, so you better not try anything there, or I'll come back for the excess money with the rest of Fairy Tail tagging along."

Letting the lightning crackle around him, he said: "And I'm going to forget that you made that last comment about Lucy. It's better for you if I did." Turning into his element, he made sure to leave several prominent lightning scorch marks in the mayor's office as well as crisping several small items that were lying about.

*****So, I know many of you are probably happy that this confrontation happened. If you think that this isn't enough, just bear with me for a while. We've got one more chapter set in this scene, and then we move on to see some of the aftermath. Thanks for sticking around this long; it takes a while to set up. Look for another chapter sometime this week!*****


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:**

When he arrived in his office, he threw the contract at his desk and headed for the infirmary, ignoring the sound of falling objects behind him. He had more important things to worry about than a few rumpled pages.

Bickslow was sitting next to the infirmary door, helmet in his hands. "Hey, you're back," he said, looking up from his babies, who were clustered around his feet. "Get everything settled?"

"Eventually," Laxus grunted, pausing for a moment with his hand on the door handle. "Everything been quiet here?"

"Yeah," Bickslow said, setting his helmet on the floor. "Porlyusica just checked on her. Didn't hear what she said, but she came out and ordered Mira to take her some place where there weren't a lot of humans so she could rest. I told Mira to take her to the house, since I'm guessing none of us will feel comfortable leaving tonight."

"Has Wendy come back yet?"

"Not yet. As far as I know, they haven't picked up the communications lacrima when we've tried, so they may be in the middle of their job. Ever's been trying periodically, but no luck."

"Thanks Bix," Laxus muttered, and then pushed open the infirmary door. He was unprepared to see Gajeel in the room, sitting next to Lucy's bed, but then he smelled the scent of old books and realized that the iron dragon slayer wasn't here for the blonde.

"How bad did things get?" Gajeel asked lowly as the lightning dragon slayer approached.

"Bad enough that I still feel like breaking things," Laxus grumbled, glancing at the blue haired mage curled up on the bed behind Gajeel. "She okay?"

"Just worn out," Gajeel said softly. "Shrimp's taking this pretty hard. She's blaming herself."

"If it's anyone's fault, it's mine," Laxus murmured, looking at the blonde hair spread out on the pillow, streaked with red. "I still don't know what's going on, but I was the one who tied her to our debt. And my senses are better than most; I should have said something when I thought she was acting off."

"All of us knew that she was acting off," Gajeel muttered, reaching up to tap his nose. "I should have said something when she stopped smelling like strawberries and started smelling like blood."

Laxus skimmed through his memories, and realized that the other dragon slayer was right. Before Tartarus, the blonde had always smelled like strawberries, with a hint of vanilla. Ever since he came back though, the scent of blood seemed to follow her around constantly. "Why didn't she say anything?" he growled, his fists clenching. "If she had just said something, everyone would have jumped to her side. Hell, if she had just told me _no_ when I asked her to do this…"

"Bunny Girl doesn't break," Gajeel said bitterly. "Remember Minerva? She didn't call for help then. And then that mess with Flare. She was gonna just let her brand her to keep Asuka safe. Back when Phantom came knocking, she jumped out a window to get away from Master Jose. Later on, I beat the shit out of her and she got up and laughed at me. That girl won't ask for help even if she's gonna die. It's infuriating."

"What the hell happened to her?" Laxus whispered. "For her to try and commit suicide because of this contract…I bluffed to the mayor about setting the Magic Council and the princess on him, and that seemed to scare him. You were there when Freed was interrogating, right? Did you learn anything?"

"Loke said that she got hurt last night on a mission," the iron dragon slayer said. "And there was a lot about her keys being tied to the contract. Something about the only way for her to keep her keys from passing to the mayor if the contract was broken was for her to be dead before the contract broke."

"So that's why she cut her bandages," Laxus murmured. "Suicide would still break the contract, because it was a choice, but if she died of blood loss from her preexisting wounds…did Loke say what she did that got her that beat up?"

"He's not saying much of anything useful," the dragon slayer said, checking on Levy. "Just that the mission she went on was one that even your team might not be able to come out of without minor injuries at best."

"Damn," Laxus hissed, knowing what type of missions his team took. "I'm amazed that she made it back, if that's the case."

"So, what happens now?" Gajeel asked, a feral glint in his eye. "Are we going to wreck his place? Fairy Tail specializes in property damage, you know. We've been pretty quiet recently."

Shaking his head, Laxus said: "First, I go see Freed and find out what else he's figured out. Then he gets to read through the file I took from the mayor and put together a good picture of what Lucy's been doing since the guild disbanded. Once we know what's been going on, then we can figure out what we'll do."

"I hope you've got enough money stashed away to pay for damages to the guild," Gajeel muttered. "Once word of this leaks out, Fairy Tail's gonna be hungry for blood. Especially since it's Lucy we're talking about. And just wait until her team gets back. I ain't getting anywhere near Natsu when he hears. He's your problem."

Laxus groaned and ran his hand through his hair. He knew that he had been lucky they hadn't returned yet because that meant repair fees addressed to the guild were less, but now he realized that there was a better reason he should wish that Team Natsu's members delayed their return as long as possible. Maybe until next year.

"Thanks for reminding me of that," he grumbled, turning to leave. "I'm going to go see if we can get runes laid around the entire building to keep anyone from leaving if they're heading to the mayor's office. And maybe some special ones to trap Team Natsu when they return."

"Good luck with that," Gajeel muttered.

Heading down the stairs, Laxus saw that nothing had changed since he left. Freed's eyes were fixed on Loke, who was still sitting in the cage he had been initially trapped in. Laxus realized that the lion was sitting in a pool of Lucy's blood, and his normally pristine suit was covered with stains.

"Do you want fresh clothes?" Laxus asked, motioning towards the blood. "I'm sure we could move you as well."

"Don't bother," Loke spat, and Laxus was surprised to see pure hatred in the spirit's eyes, hatred he hadn't seen since the disastrous Fantasia. "You should see what you've done."

"Her contract's over," Laxus said softly. "She's free."

"Did you get _all_ of it?" Loke snapped. "Or did you just throw her back in again?"

"Both debts were paid," Laxus growled. "She doesn't have to worry about the scum every again."

"Unlikely, since she still has to deal with _you_," the lion hissed. "And you're worse than him. _He_ at least wanted something. You just didn't give a damn."

"I didn't know," Laxus yelled, glaring at the spirit. "I still don't know what the hell she's been doing for the past eighteen months, or why she nearly killed herself today because nobody bothered to _tell_ me."

"She did it all for you," Loke growled menacingly. "You, and the rest of your damn guild. Each and every scar on her body is one that Fairy Tail put there. If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have entered that contract."

"You're a member too."

"But I'm hers first," Loke snapped. "And we were the only ones fighting alongside her. I carried her home last night because she passed out on the way back. We had to bring her around to talk to the mayor, but as soon as she was done, she passed out again. Sometimes, if she's too badly injured to be seen, she would send Gemini to get food for her in her place. She didn't want you to know how much damage you all were doing to her."

Laxus was dumbfounded. Why couldn't she ask for help?

"And now, all she's going to get from everyone is sympathy and you're all going to ask why she wouldn't tell anyone…the signs were all there." Loke's voice had risen to a shout, filled with rage and bitterness as he rose from his seat on the floor and slammed his fists against the rune barrier. "Any of you could have asked, all of you should have known. When she wakes up, don't blame me if she hates this guild. There were plenty of opportunities for you to help, but you failed her. You _failed_."

"I know," Laxus whispered. "I knew something was off, but I pushed it away. I asked her to sign the contract again and still don't know what it said."

"Do you really know?" Loke said coldly. "I don't think you do." Turning to Freed, the spirit said: "It is time for me to return to the others and inform them about what has transpired. Undo the barrier."

"Leave her keys," Freed said calmly. "If the contract has been broken, she will want them when she awakens."

As soon as the keys had been placed on the ground, Freed flicked his sword and the runes fell away. Loke lingered for a moment, his eyes cold as they glared at Laxus, and then he disappeared. Laxus moved to pick up the keys, but stopped dead with the ring in his hand.

"What is it?" Freed came up behind him. "What's wrong?"

"One of them is broken," Laxus said, showing Freed. "I don't understand."

"This one's Aquarius's key," Freed said, looking at the symbol on the handle. "That's odd. Aquarius is said to be one of the strongest, and I would have to agree. Celestial Gate Keys are supposed to be indestructible though. There are very few ways that keys can be broken, and it would require an immense amount of magical power on the level of a true dragon being directed _at_ the key. How Aquarius's key came to be broken is a mystery to me."

"It's an old break," called Gajeel, who was leaning on the railing. "I don't smell fresh metal in here. Although I don't know if I would smell it anyway. Her keys always have an odd metal smell to them like something that I've never smelled before."

"So how did it get broken?" Laxus muttered, tucking the keys into his pocket. "Anyway, Freed, I need your help. Given what's happened today, the mayor's office may need some protection for a little while. Can you put runes around it preventing anyone with the intention to hurt him can't enter? Just until we know what's going on. If we're going to break it, I'd like to have just cause. After that, come to my office and I'm going to give you the file that I took from his office. Hopefully it has the information on what Lucy's been doing for the past eighteen months. To make sure that he's not hiding anything from us, you have my permission to search Lucy's room for anything that she might have kept a record of. Financials, diaries, mission records…anything. Other than that, the guild will run as usual. Only the people in this building right now, Porlyusica, Wendy, and Lisanna are allowed to enter the infirmary. We'll set up a temporary one if needed, but I want Lucy to be undisturbed, and under a twenty four hour watch until she wakes up."

"Porlyusica told us to keep her out until Wendy gets here to heal her," Freed said quietly. "She doesn't want Lucy potentially undoing her work."

"Fine," Laxus said. "Just keep an eye on her at all times. Someone should be in the room with her. Anyone have any questions?"

When he was met with silence, he returned to his office and began to clean up the mess he had made. The mayor's file on Lucy had a picture of her that had to have been taken before the time skip clipped to the front cover. Seeing the laughter in her face…Laxus wanted to be sick. Not even a year into being master and he had hurt someone worse than he had ever dreamed of.

*****And that ends this bloody scene. So...next chapter we see Lucy waking up. Also, I'm glad everyone liked seeing Laxus in action during the last chapter. To quote one reviewer: "Scary political Laxus is the best kind of Laxus". I'd have to agree. And for those of you who still want the mayor to pay...hold on for a while. We've got a bunch of chapters to go before we find out what happens to him. For those of you who are looking for more romance...wait a bit. Lucy's got some things she needs to work through with Laxus before they can get to the fluffy stuff. It's going to be a bumpy ride, but I promise, it's worth it. There are moments coming that make me super happy. Like the scene I'm working on now, set during Christmas at Fairy Tail. But that's for about twenty chapters from now, so...I have plenty of time to make it great. Other than that...I don't really have too much to say. I'm busy trying to get ****_Still Standing_**** done so I can keep working on other projects.*****


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten:**

Lucy opened her eyes, and immediately closed them again. The light was too bright at first. Trying again, she found it more bearable.

"Lu-chan?" a voice said next to her, gasping. "Are you awake?"

She tried to turn her head. The voice was familiar, but she couldn't place it right away. Catching a glimpse of blue, she realized that it was Levy. "Le-vy," she rasped, her throat and mouth dry. How long had she been out?

"Oh Lu-chan," Levy gasped, and then Lucy heard running feet and a door opening. "Laxus! She's awake!"

Struggling to sit up, Lucy found that her body was covered with bandages and ached terribly. Memories of what had happened flooded back, and she bit the inside of her cheek. Why was she still alive? Giving up on trying to sit up, she stared at the ceiling. If her keys had been anywhere near her, someone would have come out to see her. Loke would have been at her bedside unless he was being kept away. They were gone.

Footsteps were heard, and Levy's voice sounded next to her right ear. "Lu-chan, do you feel like sitting up? Do you want water?"

No, she didn't feel like sitting up. She didn't want water. Lucy wasn't sure how she felt about being awake. But Levy fussed about her, propping her up on pillows and sticking a straw into her mouth. For a moment, Lucy thought about spitting the water out, but it soothed her dry mouth so she swallowed.

The door opened again, and more footsteps were heard. Laxus came into view, and Lucy felt rage bubbling up inside her, pushing away her desire to just go back to being unconscious and pretend that she hadn't woken up. His steps seemed unsure as he took the empty chair on her left side, and Lucy was glad to see that he looked as if he hadn't been sleeping very well recently. _He deserves it_.

"How are you feeling Lucy?" he asked softly, eyes scanning her. "You've been out for a week."

She shrugged. It wasn't worth her breath to answer him. _What happened Loke?_ She wondered. _Why am I still alive?_

"Lucy…" he began, trading glances with Levy who hovered by her side. "We know about the contract."

Lucy ignored him. So he knew now, huh? A little too late for that. If six months could be counted as a _little_.

"We paid off the guild's debt," he said, and his eyes looked towards her hopefully, but she looked straight ahead. _Is that supposed to make me happy? My future still doesn't exist._

"Freed's looked at the file the mayor had on you. He says that you've done some pretty amazing things during this year and a half. I'm pretty sure he wants to invite you to the Raijinshu as soon as you're ready." Laxus half-chuckled, and she could feel him looking at her again.

"I can't be part of the guild anymore," she mumbled, wishing that her voice would cooperate with her. With her voice wavering and tongue tripping over the words, it was impossible to sound resolute.

"We understand that we've hurt you," he hurried to say. "But we want to make it up for you. Everyone wants to help. Someone brought back a silver key they found on their last mission for you, and then everyone mobbed the board looking for requests that offered keys."

"No, you don't understand." There, her voice was working better. "I'm not a mage anymore." They had taken her magic from her.

Laxus looked surprised, but Levy reached for her hand. "It's okay Lu-chan. We understand if you don't want to go back out right away. You can just spend time here recovering and go out when you're ready. It's not like you're the only one who has ever needed to take time off. Mira rarely goes out, even now that Lisanna's back, and Kinana never does. Until you feel up to it, you can just rest and spend time with us."

"_I am not a mage anymore_," Lucy snapped, slapping away Levy's hand. "My keys are gone, and no spirit would be willing to contract with me ever again. You've done more than hurt me. I'll never be a mage again."

Levy looked hurt, but it was Laxus who spoke. "Lucy, your keys are safe. They're in my office. The debt was paid before the contract broke."

"Bring them here." Hope blossomed in her chest. _Is he telling the truth? Did things turn out all right in the end?_

"No," he said flatly. "I don't trust you, or them."

"Bring me my damn key ring Laxus," she snapped, fingers clenching the sheets under her hands. "Haven't you done enough harm already?"

"Lucy, you and Loke plotted your own death. If we had been more than a minute later than we were, you would be _dead_. So forgive me if I don't let you near each other until I'm certain that you're not going to try to kill yourself again."

She swore at him. Very loudly. And she incorporated a few words from languages that she had learned from her tutors that her father didn't know she had learned. When those ran out, she moved to a few words that she and Levy had learned while researching ancient languages. Eventually though, she ran out of words, and settled for glaring at him.

He seemed unmoved though, and glanced at Levy, who seemed taken aback. "I'm going to assume that the ones I didn't understand carried the same sentiment as the ones I did?"

The bluenette nodded meekly, and Lucy wanted to slap him for how nonchalant he was acting. "If you're so worried about what Loke and I did, then keep his key until you're certain I'm not going to do anything."

Laxus snorted. "First, I wouldn't put it past you to have plotted with more than one of your spirts. So that's enough reason to keep you away from them rather than trying to figure out which of your fifteen keys you've plotted with and give you the ones who I think can be trusted not to help you make new plots with."

Lucy's heart sank. _He doesn't have them_. "Did they tell you that it's important not to upset people who have almost died so you think that lying to me is a good way to keep me happy?"

Confused, he scrambled for words. "I'm not lying to you. I do have your keys."

"_Liar_," she hissed. "If you did, you would have known that I only have fourteen keys."

"I counted Aquarius's key because nobody could tell me if a broken key still worked." Laxus's voice was calm. "When Loke handed over your keys, we noticed that hers was broken. Yukino couldn't tell us what might have broken the key or if it was still useable, so I assumed that it still functioned."

Feeling her heart ache at his words, Lucy focused on her anger to keep the tears at bay. "Well, I only have fourteen keys and a relic," she spat. "Now bring them here."

"No," Laxus growled. "Even if I kept them out of your reach, I know at least Loke is capable of showing up on his own. So until I trust both you and them, they're staying with me. I'm not going to argue with you on this."

"Why would you give a damn about what happens to me?" she snapped. "You haven't before."

She felt a thrill of success as he flinched. "I'm trying to make up for that," he said calmly. "I know now that I put you in a bad situation without a second thought. Everyone knows. But we fixed the situation and would like to make it up to you in any way possible."

"Did you ever consider that I had wanted to die?" Lucy cried, trying to strike out at him, but her body was still too weak to move that far. "Did you even think about what I wanted?"

"Your contract is over and your keys are safe," Laxus snapped. "I don't see…"

"You never did," she said bitterly, turning her face away. "Go away Laxus."

"If that's what you want," he said, and she heard him getting up. "But Fairy Tail isn't going to let you die. We came too close to losing you this time."

"That was your fault," she said quietly. "If you guys hadn't gotten in my way, I wouldn't be in this bed."

"No, you'd be in your grave." Laxus hissed. "Tell me how that's a better outcome."

"They're not _stupid_," she cried, turning to face him. "The mayor knew that if I died on a mission because of injuries, people would ask questions. In all likelihood, the mission I was going to be given was a short messenger job. It's his way of trying to get me to fail to report as summoned. If it weren't for you guys meddling, I would have gone, completed the job, and everything would be fine. I didn't need your interference."

"If we hadn't interfered, you would have been stuck with the contract," he yelled. "I don't see why you're…"

"You think that I'm supposed to be _grateful_ for your actions which forced me into a situation where my only option was to take my own life?" she yelled back. "Oh yes, you're such a hero! But guess what? I'm not a damsel in distress! I had it all under control."

"Porlyusica and Wendy both say that even if you hadn't opened your bandages, you might have died," he said quietly. "Something in your wounds was preventing them from clotting properly. You might have died from blood loss if you didn't have medical treatment."

"Then I would have died," Lucy said, turning her face away. "Better that than to have to sit here and listen to this."

She heard him growl and storm out, the door slamming back into its frame so hard that the entire infirmary shook. Lucy slumped against her pillows, surprised at how exhausted she felt.

Levy's voice came from next to her. "Lu-chan, why didn't you tell me? Gajeel and I would have helped, you know we would have." Her hands helped Lucy lie down again, but they trembled as they touched her.

"You never asked," Lucy said quietly, carefully shifting onto her side, putting her back to Levy. "I'm going to assume that Wendy's healed me to the point where I can't rip anything open?"

"She said that your body just needs to recover from the stress of the injury, but the injuries themselves have all been healed. You'll need to get back the strength and control in your muscles, especially your arms. The damage was particularly bad there." Levy's voice wavered as she continued. "She said that she got here too late though…you'll have scars."

"I don't care."

*****So...yeah. That just happened. As you may guess from how this interaction went, fluffy LaLu's going to be a long time coming. These two have some issues to work out, and I just love my angst. Seriously, when my beta and I were discussing titles, ****_ANGST_**** was a contender. She'll tell you all about it eventually, I have no doubt. But yeah...it's going to be painful for a while. Lucy's in a bad place.**

**On a lighter note, I can give you some fun things to look forward to in the distant future. For instance: Erza nearly destroying Laxus's house, an awkward dinner, sober Cana, drunk/hungover Freed, and the most recent: Christmas with Fairy Tail. But most of those are MANY many chapters in the future, but I can't help but hint.**

**Other than that...hmmm, not much to say. This week's stand-out phrase from the reviews is probably "reckless nimrods" (in reference to Team Natsu). My beta and I nearly fell over laughing at that one. I'm contemplating participating in the upcoming CoLu week if my beta will let me (sufficient progress must be made on ****_Still Standing_**** for that to happen). I think that's it. Thanks for reading!*****


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven:**

Laxus smelled salt as he heard the running feet hurry down the stairs, door slamming in their wake. Sighing, he counted to twenty before his own office door came flying open. Mira stood there, hands on her hips.

"You need to talk to her," the woman spat, and Laxus could feel her magic just under the surface. "She's completely out of control."

"What did she do now?" he asked, finishing up the form he had been working on.

"Kinana has now taken refuge in the kitchens, in _tears_ because of something Lucy said to her."

"Bunny brought up her past and said that nobody ever looked for Kinana because she's useless and as soon as a tool becomes useless, it's disposed of." Gajeel's head poked around the doorway. "Shrimp's with her now, and she asked me to come up and tell you that if you want to insist on Bunny Girl being watched all the time, you better remind her that we're not her enemies."

Mira glared at Laxus, and he pushed away from his desk. The blonde had only been awake for a week and she had already sharpened her tongue on the majority of the females in the guild. He had tried sending Freed and Bickslow in to watch her, but she went after them as well. Laxus had never seen Freed so emotional before, and Bickslow had disappeared for two hours after he left the infirmary.

"I'll do what I can," he muttered, heading for the hallway. "But she hates me more than the rest of you put together, so I can't promise anything."

Pushing open the door to the infirmary, he ducked instinctively as a cup came sailing towards him. It clattered harmlessly to the floor well in front of him, and he vaguely remembered Ever complaining that Lucy had thrown her plate at her once. Apparently it was a good thing that the blonde was only being served on plastic dishes, not that the guild kept many breakable dishes around anyway. Too much money to replace every time a brawl broke out.

As he moved further into the room, he dodged a bowl that was thrown, even though it fell far short, and glared at her as she reached for the spoon on her bedside table. "Don't you _dare_," he growled. Even though her aim was off and her distance was awful, he didn't want her thinking she could just throw things at people.

"I'll throw it if I want to," she snapped. "Didn't I tell you that I didn't want to see you? Until you get out of here, I'll keep throwing things. And because it's you, I'll make it _hurt_."

"Run out of words to hurt people's feelings?" he snapped back. "If you didn't drive off every female in the guild, as well as Freed and Bix, I wouldn't be called in to deal with you. Oh, and there's no way you could hurt me with a spoon. Even if it hit me, it's _plastic_."

"Is it too much to ask for privacy?" she said bitterly. "I don't know why you think I'm going to kill myself, but I don't need a bunch of people hanging around waiting for it to happen. Not that it could, because you don't allow me anything that could be weaponized. See," she indicated the spoon. "_Plastic_."

"Until we can trust you, you can't be left alone," he said simply. "And so far, all I see is a brat throwing a tantrum who needs a babysitter."

She glared at him. "Oh yeah? Well this _brat_ is the only reason you have a guild hall."

Laxus shook his head. "You're going to behave yourself with Gajeel, who's going to come in and keep an eye on you while I try and find a woman who you _haven't_ pissed off so much that they won't come up here and deal with your bad attitude. Unless of course, you're willing to have me move my desk in here and do all of my work here. Because if you drive off the next person who tries to take care of you out of the goodness of their heart, that's what's going to happen."

Lucy threw the spoon towards his head, but he caught it. "And that was the last straw. Your food now comes in paper dishes. No utensils. Good luck throwing things at people."

As he turned to leave, she shrieked in rage.

"I could gag you," he said, hand on the doorknob. "It would make my life easier if you insist on being difficult."

"If I'm so difficult, why won't you just give me my keys," she snapped. "They could take care of me."

"Not a chance," he said, and went out into the hall, motioning for Gajeel to enter. He heard the thump of her pillow hitting the floor, and said: "Don't give it back to her. She obviously doesn't want it."

Gajeel smiled grimly and went into the infirmary with the same look he had when facing down the Chariot event at the Grand Magic Games. Laxus sighed, and went down the stairs to see who would be willing to take another turn with Lucy.

* * *

Another week passed, and Lucy was still being unreasonable. Laxus's patience was wearing thin. The blonde had stopped throwing things, mainly because they had removed everything that she _could_ throw, but nobody could get her to curb her tongue. Even Gajeel, who ignored pretty much everything said about him, was refusing to take a shift with her. So when Wendy and Porlyusica wanted a word with him after her checkup, he ushered them into his office and hoped that they had good news for him.

"Lucy-san's doing very well physically," Wendy said, her voice shaking. Lucy had been especially venomous that afternoon. "Mentally though…she's hurting."

"That child needs to get out of the guild," Porlyusica said grumpily. "She's at the point where she doesn't need constant supervision, but she still needs to be carefully monitored. Her body needs time to rest and regain strength, instead of jumping straight into things. Where does she live?"

"She's been living in a storage room since the guild disbanded," Laxus muttered. It was a tiny, cramped thing. Freed had shown him the room while they were looking for information on what Lucy had been doing for the mayor. He had been amazed at the Spartan feel to it, the only personal item being the giant map of Fiore with the guild member's names on it. Lucy had apparently been tracking the whereabouts of everyone since they had scattered.

"That won't work," Wendy said nervously, looking at Porlyusica. "I think part of the reason she's so angry is because she's cooped up in the guild, constantly seeing people she's angry with. If she could get out, she wouldn't have these constant reminders. And I think she needs her keys back."

"Not until she stabilizes," Laxus said firmly. "So if she can't stay in the guild, where is she supposed to go?"

"Send her home with someone," Porlyusica snapped. "Surely there's someone here who has the room for her?"

Sighing, Laxus reached for the drawer where he kept the guild member's profiles. "Thank you, both of you. I know she's not the most agreeable patient…Porlyusica, would Wendy be able to explain Lucy's care requirements to whoever takes responsibility for her?"

"She will be able to oversee the girl's recovery from here on out," the old woman said. "I'm going to go back to my forest and if you disturb me in the next six months, you will be in pain."

Rolling his eyes, Laxus said: "I understand. Thanks for your help in the meantime. If you need anything, just send word."

"If something happens to the girl though, call me," the old woman paused at the door. "I don't mind her as much as I mind the rest of you humans."

The surprise must have shown on his face, because she muttered: "The girl came to me a few times when her injuries were particularly bad. Her spirits forced her to."

Nodding, Laxus turned back to Wendy. "Thank you Wendy. If you'll excuse me, I need to find a place for Lucy to stay. Do you have any opinions?"

Twisting the end of her hair with her finger, Wendy said: "I'd say she could stay with me, but I'm staying with Alzack and Bisca until I find a place. We don't have room for her, and I don't think I could handle Lucy-san on my own…or that Asuka should have to hear what she's saying."

With a grimace, Laxus nodded. Lucy had changed from the sweet girl who never said anything unkind to a venomous snake who spat at everyone she came across. Even when Yukino had called on the communications lacrima, Lucy had driven her away. There was a thought… "What about Yukino? Sending Lucy away from Fairy Tail might help."

Immediately, Wendy shook her head. "Lucy-san shouldn't leave Magnolia. As angry as she is with the people in Fairy Tail right now, I think she still loves the guild. And if Team Natsu hears that she's at Sabertooth, they'll go there to find out why before they come home. Which could be _very_ bad."

"Well then…I was thinking I'd ask the Strauss siblings, Levy, and the Raijinshu. They're reasonably close to her and would be able to rotate through taking care of her."

Wendy nodded. "Those are probably the best choices," she agreed. "But I don't know if she'll take them."

"She doesn't have a choice," Laxus said bluntly. "If it's what you say needs to happen, she's getting out of the guild."

"Laxus-san," Wendy said, fidgeting uncomfortably. "I…when I was at Lamia Scale for that year, Lucy and I wrote to each other. And on some letters I…I could smell blood. But I never said anything…"

"None of us said anything," Laxus said gently. "It's not your fault Wendy. She's angry with all of us, and for good reason. It will take her time to forgive us."

"Okay Laxus-san," Wendy murmured, getting up to go. "Would you like me to ask the Raijinshu and the others to come up?"

"I suppose that would be best," he groaned, not looking forward to the conversation he was about to have. "Who was sitting with Lucy?"

"Cana," Wendy said, fidgeting again. "She swore she was sober, and I believe her. I think Mira told her that if she sat with Lucy for a while, completely sober, Mira would pay her alcohol bill tomorrow."

"Damn," Laxus muttered as Wendy left. If Mira was bribing Cana into sobriety for a few hours and offering to pay the tab for the next day, she had to be desperate.

In a few minutes, his office filled with the people he had asked for, and Gajeel, who had come in with Levy. Sighing, he said: "Wendy and Porlyusica say that the next step in Lucy's recovery is moving her out of the guild and into a home for the duration of her recovery."

"She's well enough that they're letting her out of the infirmary?" Levy asked.

"Apparently," Laxus grunted. "They think that being cooped up there isn't doing much for her mental state. Since she was living in the guild before, we have to find another place for her to stay, and it has to be a place where she has near constant care. She doesn't need to be watched at the same level that she is now, but someone has to be nearby at all times."

"So you want one of us to take her into our home, Laxus-sama." Freed's voice was cold, and it was like a knife in Laxus's heart. After hearing about what had happened to Lucy, and his role in it, most of the guild was still angry with Laxus, but Freed and the rest of the Raijinshu had been angrier than most. Apparently they had spent time with Lucy while he was away, and the trio had grown quite close to the blonde. His captain was particularly frigid with him nowadays, and Laxus couldn't blame him. He blamed himself for the whole matter.

"That would be ideal. Now, I understand that it's a lot of responsibility, so I'm willing to help pay for her upkeep and replace any lost income from jobs. Is there anyone who's interested in taking her in?"

Levy frowned. "I'm sorry, but I'm currently crashing on Gajeel's couch. There's no way another person could fit in his house."

"We're too busy helping you with the organization of the guild, Master," Ever said, her voice haughty. "Most night's we're here late, working on paperwork. It would not be ideal for Lucy to stay with us, even though your room has opened up since you moved to your new house."

"I would say she could stay with us, but I'm usually running the bar, and Lisanna's been helping me. We could help out, but I don't think we could take her on for a long term commitment. Plus, we don't have the room. Lisanna and I share, and she shouldn't have to sleep on the couch."

Laxus sighed. "Okay, does anyone know of someone who has the time and space to take in Lucy who won't cave after she goes after them with her tongue?"

The room was full of negative replies, and he sighed again.

"Wait, I have an idea." The room turned to look at Mira, who was smiling brightly. "She should stay with Laxus!"

"Don't you think that would be counter-productive to her recovery?" Freed asked icily, and Bickslow nodded while Ever glared.

"She's the worst when he's in the room," Levy murmured, and Gajeel grunted in agreement.

Lisanna and Elfman looked uneasy, but Mira continued on as if the entire room hadn't just shot down her plan. "I know she's angry at him, but she's never driven him out of the infirmary like she's done with the rest of us. Plus, didn't Ever say he just moved to a new house? Surely he's got room for her."

Dumbstruck, Laxus said: "I do have the space, but last time I checked, I was still Master here. I'm up to my ears in paperwork!"

Mira flapped her hand at him. "You just said Lucy doesn't need constant supervision. Your paperwork can be taken to your house. If you come to the guild a couple of hours a day, I'm sure we can manage without you for the rest of the time. And while you're here, we can all rotate through keeping an eye on her, so that way nobody gets particularly burnt out. Plus, if she's angriest at you, you need the most time to make it up to her. It all makes sense."

Freed nodded slowly. "If Lucy stays with Laxus-sama, then she will be slightly out of town, giving her a relatively isolated space with few memories to recover in. The land his house is built on is quite tranquil as well; perfect for recovery. Laxus-sama spends most of his time doing paperwork in his office right now, which can be done off-site. The Raijinshu need to be able to move about in town or the guild while we continue our projects, but we can each take a few hours off each day to give Laxus-sama an opportunity to come and do work here. Because of his ability to teleport, Lucy will be able to get to medical care quickly and we will be able to move quickly between his house and the guild."

"There, you see? It's perfect! Now, when are we going to move her?" Mira clapped her hands together.

"Hold on, I don't have anything set up in the spare room yet!" Laxus protested, but Mira only shrugged.

"Go out and get what she needs and set it up. We can move her tomorrow."

"How do I know what she needs?" he grumbled, but Levy stepped up.

"If you get the furniture, I could get the rest of what she needs. I used to go to her apartment all the time, so I know what she likes."

"I'll help you Levy," Ever said, stepping towards the bluenette. "As long as you don't mind me making a few stops while we're out."

"Not a problem. Laxus, what size bed are you planning on getting?" Levy asked, and Laxus wondered if his grandfather ever had to deal with a mess like this.

"Twin," he mumbled, trying to picture how the room would be laid out.

"Don't forget to get a desk," Levy said, turning to leave the room. "Lu-chan likes to…she liked to write."

Sighing, Laxus reached for his coat. Apparently he wasn't going to have a choice in the matter.

*****Hi all! Before I say too much, I've got a note from my beta!**

_**Hey all! So you haven't met me yet, but I've been the beta for both Strength of Spirit and Still Standing. I was just as surprised as a lot of you were when I first read this interpretation of Lucy, but I'm working with Rhose to try and make sure she doesn't become too OOC. To respond to a few of the concerned reviews, our reasoning behind Lucy's character in this fic is that almost two years of isolation made Lucy doubt some of her friendships and now she's at the point where she can finally share the feelings that she's forced herself to ignore during that time. But from here on out, the plot tends to focus on how Lucy, Laxus, and the rest of Fairy Tail heal emotionally. I personally love reading reviews so I can argue with Rhose about plot and character (you guys give me some leverage!) as I edit and proof things, so keep 'em coming! I have a bit more influence on this fic, so hopefully you'll be hearing from me again soon!**_

**So, she said most of what I wanted to cover, but I'll just reiterate a bit. I know this Lucy is a shock to you. It was a shock to me too when I first met this Lucy. But when I thought about it, everything just made sense. You don't go through what Lucy's gone through without having a lot of mixed up emotions, and right now they're all bubbling to the surface. And don't be too hard on Laxus. He's struggling with a lot himself right now, between the guild and Lucy's situation. He's just trying to do what he thinks is right. Also, for those of you who think he should give her back her keys, let me explain. Laxus and the rest of Fairy Tail saw Loke and the rest help Lucy with her plan to die, and Loke even admitted that it was something Lucy had discussed with him beforehand. Nobody besides Lucy knows what other plans she put in place, so Laxus feels its safer to keep her away from people who might let her (or even help her) hurt herself. Because Lucy's been in such a bitter, angry state, she hasn't been able to successfully prove that it's not going to happen, so therefore, no keys. She'll get them back soon, with a few provisions, but it takes some time for her to calm down.**

**As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!*****


	12. Chapter 12

**SS Chapter Twelve Edits:**

Laxus frowned as he left his office. Mira and the others hadn't really given him a chance the day before when they decided that Lucy would be moving in with him. After giving Levy and Ever the information they needed to do Lucy's shopping, he had spent the rest of the day finishing up what he needed to do at the guild itself and packing paperwork to bring back with him. It was easier than thinking about the blonde who would become his roommate.

The easiest problem to consider was that she was a female. Even though he had shared a house with Ever while his house was being built, she had set _very_ clearly defined boundaries and enforced them. She had moved in after the return, since Fairy Hills had been rendered unlivable during the Tartarus affair and hadn't been repaired until they returned a year later. He, Freed, and Bix had all been subject to her wrath upon appearing shirtless, entering her room without express permission, and making inappropriate comments. Having heard tales of Natsu and Grey trespassing in Lucy's apartment, he could only guess that she was similarly inclined. Laxus remembered their battered forms crawling into the guild, the angry blonde stomping behind them muttering about perverts. If he wasn't careful, he'd end up the same way.

More difficult though was her animosity towards him. While she was vitriolic towards everyone, a special brand of venom had been spared for him. The others had been right when they said she was the worst when he was in the room. As cowardly as it may be, he had stayed away from the infirmary, only entering when he had to. He could have borne her silence easier. Even if she glared at him, with her eyes that could cut right through him, saying nothing at all, he could bear that. But her words…

He had known many mages who used words in their magic. Levy McGarden, whose magic literally was the creation of words. His own teammate, who used words to bind, to cut, and to almost literally curse. But Lucy's words seemed to have their own special power. Stronger than any of Freed's runes, they cut through a person, targeting weaknesses and doubts, harsher than he could have ever imagined the blonde to be.

Before, she had never been like this. His memories of Lucy Heartfilia were memories of smiles, of forgiveness. Of laughter, and a strength that defied her appearance. Once, he had written off the Celestial Mage as weak and useless, just another name to be discarded in his attempt to create a more powerful Fairy Tail. That disappeared after she beat Bix in a game meant to favor the Seith Mage. It was completely shattered after he learned that she had joined the others in destroying his Thunder Palace. Even after he left Fairy Tail in disgrace he had heard about her. How she helped beat the Oracion Seis. And then the stories he heard about her on Tenrou, unwilling to leave Natsu and facing death with a smile on her face…watching her willingly submit to save Asuka, watching her face down Minerva even though she knew that she could do nothing but withstand the woman's attacks…Gajeel had told him privately afterwards that it wasn't the first time Lucy had been tortured. The Iron dragon slayer had confessed that he had done his worst to the girl, trying to make her break just for the fun of it, but she laughed at him. Each time though, she had gotten up with a smile and carried on.

_What makes this time different?_ Laxus wondered, his feet heavy as he moved slowly towards the infirmary where he knew she waited for him. Mira had been elected to get her dressed and ready for the move to his house, and his enhanced hearing had picked up the sound of them struggling over it.

_She was all alone_, his mind answered. _This time, there was no Natsu. No Fairy Tail. Imagine, having all of that ripped away, and then submitting yourself to that contract…even I would break. But she bore it all, and now that she's free…how would anyone feel?_

He didn't have an answer. Grateful, he supposed, but Lucy clearly blamed him and to an extent Fairy Tail for putting her in the situation in the first place. Remembering her face the day she nearly died…it gave him chills. The anger in her eyes had nearly burned him alive, worse than Natsu's flames. Her scream still woke him at night, when he dreamed of being minutes too late and seeing her die in front of him, the sight of her lying limply in Loke's arms on the guild floor playing before his eyes. Loke's pain and desperation…it haunted him. But even more so was the dead look in her eyes when she woke. At first there had been more anger, and he accepted that, _welcomed _it even. Her anger was a small price to pay compared to the weight of her life. Even now, he felt as if her blood still lay on his hands, even though he had scrubbed it off that night, burning the clothes he had worn because he couldn't bear the thought of how he had so royally screwed up. But under the anger…there was a lifeless darkness in her eyes. Even now, it lurked there, under whatever anger she was displaying, and in it there was a hint of malice and cruelty. It was as if she wanted to repay every shard of pain that had been embedded into her heart. Like she was trying to cut open everyone around her so she could feel better. He wondered what it would be like to see inside her mind, but the thought scared him as much as it intrigued him.

Beyond the lifelessness though was the fear. He saw it as he glanced instinctively at the bedside table, looking for the keys that he couldn't bear to let her have. Physically, she couldn't summon any of them, not even the smallest silver key. Wendy and Porlyusica have been clear on that aspect. So part of his reason for keeping them from her was for her own good. Laxus knew Lucy well enough to know that she would try and summon them, regardless of her own physical state. One time might be enough to kill her. Yet his real reason was that he was afraid of her keys, afraid of what the might do to her. While he didn't actually believe any of them would hurt her now, the sight of Loke preventing Freed from reaching her body as she bled out appeared every time he looked at the keys. Could he risk letting any of them near her a second time, knowing that all of them had been prepared to let her die and prevent anyone from helping her? The thought frightened him.

Opening the door quietly, he slipped inside, watching from where he knew she couldn't see him as she argued with Mira. While most people looked small to him, she looked absolutely _tiny_. Wendy had told him that the girl hadn't been eating properly for a long time, and hadn't let her body heal either. Lucy looked frail, her arms shaking as she tried unsuccessfully to bat Mira's hands away as the older woman brushed her hair, which looked limp and lifeless against the white sheets of the infirmary bed and Lucy's own pale skin. The scars which had reduced Wendy to tears as the younger girl failed to heal them stood out, angry red and stark white. Every time he saw her, Laxus had a hard time recognizing the woman he had insultingly offered to save under the condition that she became _his woman_. Not just because of her physical changes, but also because the emotional changes that had devastated the entire guild.

"_Stop it_," Lucy hissed at Mira, as the other woman pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "I don't want you messing with my hair."

"Lucy, can we not fight about this?" Mira sounded exasperated. "Just stop wiggling for one minute. If you don't want me pulling on your hair, then you need to stop moving."

Deciding that it was time for him to appear, Laxus summoned his neutral expression and moved towards the bed. Lucy immediately zeroed in on him.

"Come to gawk at the prisoner before her execution?" she said dryly, scorn dripping from every word as she watched him sidestep the pillow that lay on the floor near her bed.

"We're not going to hurt you," he said calmly, fighting down the fear provoked by the image her words created. "Mira's just trying to help you out."

"_That's right_," she said in mock contemplation. "You've _already_ hurt me. And since you've gone to all this effort to _save_ me, why go through the hassle of an execution? So, what is it this time? Have more debts that need to be paid, contracts to be signed? I got real food today, and Mira's been up here trying to 'make me presentable', so there's something big going on."

Her words stung, but he had learned that shows of emotion provoked her even more. "You're getting real food because Wendy said your system was okay to handle it. And we're moving you out of the infirmary today, so that's why Mira's spending her time with you. Although you're being such a brat about it that I don't know why she bothers."

Fear flashed through Lucy's eyes, but she covered it quickly with anger. "This _brat's_ the only reason the guildhall was standing when you arrived to take up your throne. I didn't hear you complaining about me then. So, where do I get to go? Back to my room?"

"We're not going to send you back to a storage room," he said softly. "Wendy and Porlyusica suggested that we move you to someplace outside the guildhall. You won't need to be watched all the time now either."

As Lucy struggled against Mira's hands, still entangled in her hair, he saw pure fear fill her eyes, displacing the lifelessness. Her flailing arm knocked off the tray that was sitting on the bedside table, and he realized that it was only half-eaten at best.

"Don't take me out of the guild," she snapped, fighting to move towards him. "I'll at least be quiet. Just let me stay here."

Watching her panic made him wonder what psychological affect her year had on her. When the guild, the place where she almost died and the place she had gone through so much to protect, was her _refuge_…it made him reconsider what Wendy and Porlyusica had told him.

But at the same time, it solidified his decision. "Lucy, it's what's best for you right now. Wendy and Porlyusica both agree. You need to move to a new place, get some space from the guild."

"I don't _have_ anywhere to go," she spat as Mira restrained her arms. Seeing how little strength it took drove home the extent of Lucy's injuries and what Wendy had told him about the physical therapy she would need to undergo. "The guild's my home now."

Eyeing her carefully, Laxus broke the news bluntly, knowing that in this situation, there was no sugarcoating. "I have a spare room that Ever and Levy spent yesterday setting up for you."

"Absolutely _not_." Lucy spat, fury replacing the fear in her eyes. "I refuse to spend any more time with you than absolutely necessary. If I could, I'd _never_ spend any time with you. Send me back to my room at the guild, send me to Mira, send me to _Flare Corona_…just don't make me move in with you."

"Do you think this is something I wanted?" he asked, letting some of his own emotions slip through. "We all talked about it, and I'm the only one with the time and the space to deal with you. Nobody else wants to handle your tantrums all day. You're acting like a child."

"Let me have my keys back," she hissed. "They could take care of me, and you could be rid of me. Wouldn't that make everyone happy?"

"Everyone would be happy if you didn't actively try and make them _miserable_," he pointed out. "And you can't have your keys because I don't trust them to act in your best interests. Plus you couldn't summon them anyway. Maybe if you stopped being so damn pissed at the world, you'd have a lot more options."

"Maybe I don't want anyone's _pity_," Lucy retorted, still trying weakly to struggle against Mira's hold.

Sighing, Laxus knew that arguing with her would get him nowhere. Looking at Mira, he asked: "Is Levy at the house?"

When she nodded, he turned to the blonde on the bed, who was panting from her exertions. "If you try to hit me, you'll regret it," he warned, not giving her time to think about his statement as he gathered her up and lightning travelled from the room.

*****So, after a lengthy argument with my beta, we decided that Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 needed to be rewritten before they were posted. This is the first of those rewrites. The purpose that we had was to change our Lucy into something a little tamer, less bitter and angry, because we felt that some of you had some valid points. But we struggled with that decision, because we know what's going to happen in the story. Right now Lucy comes out of left field, and it's no wonder you guys are struggling with her. Therefore, I sat down and rewrote this chapter from scratch. Nothing in here came from the old chapter except the general scene progression.**

**And then I looked at what I had written and realized that Lucy ****_hadn't_**** changed at all. In terms of her responses...she was the same. But when my beta took a look, we realized that the problem may not lie with Lucy, but how the original chapters had shown her. There's a whole lot going on in Lucy's head that we weren't showing you, and some of that is hinted at here, hopefully making her prolonged rage easier to understand. Chapter 13 will reveal even more, once I've finished the rewrite, so bear with us. **

**In the meantime, if anyone wants to see the original chapter, please feel free to PM me and ask for it. When we decided to redo the chapters, I was adamant about preserving the originals because I think that they're still good chapters, but maybe not what you guys were looking for.*****


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen:**

As soon as he landed on the ground in front of his house, Laxus became aware of an insistent tapping on his chin. Shifting his head, he dodged a fist from Lucy, and realized that what he had felt as a mild tap had actually been her best effort at punching him in the face. _I know that I'm a lot stronger physically than her, but even Asuka can hit harder…we've got a long road ahead of us_.

"Take me back," she demanded hoarsely, and he could hear the panic in her voice. "I don't want to be here, and I definitely don't want to be here with _you_."

Ignoring her protests, he carried her to the front door, where Levy was waiting, having heard their arrival. Lucy's protests had devolved into swearing again, but the bluenette had become so accustomed to her friend swearing that she barely batted an eye at the coarse vocabulary. Instead, she chuckled softly at some of the more creative phrases the blonde used. Laxus had to give Lucy credit; the girl certainly knew how to insult someone. In the time that she had been awake, he hadn't ever heard her repeat an insult.

Reaching the room that he had let Ever and Levy set up for Lucy, he set her gently on the bed. While he had taken care of the furniture, the women had set everything up and unpacked the blonde's things. When he had first arrived home, he had raised an eye at the bright pink comforter, the likes of which had never been seen before in his house, but both of them had sworn it was Lucy's favorite color. Knowing that the other two were better at this sort of thing, he had left them to it, telling them to charge everything to his account. Paying for Lucy's living expenses was the least he could do to begin repaying the debt he owed her.

Once on the bed, she attempted to bolt for the door, but he pressed her gently back down. "Lucy, you know that Wendy says you'll need help walking for a while, let alone running. We can start your exercises tomorrow, so why don't you just rest here for today and get accustomed? Levy's here to help you, and I'll be in my study working on paperwork. If you need anything, I'll hear you call."

Glaring fiercely at him, the blonde turned to Levy, who had followed them into the room. "Levy, tell him that I need to go back to the guild. I don't want to be here." The panic was stronger in her voice, and he wondered if she truly didn't want to be at _his_ house, or if it was just her departure from the guild that had alarmed her.

Levy moved to set on the bed next to her, saying softly. "Lu-chan, Wendy told us you needed to get away from the guild for a while, and we all decided that Laxus was the best person for you to stay with. You don't know it yet, but it's quiet here. If you take things carefully, you'll be back at the guild in no time."

Lucy recoiled as if burned. "Why couldn't I stay with you?" she asked, shooting Laxus another glare. "Why does it have to be _him_?"

Sighing, Levy said: "Lucy, I'm still living on Gajeel's couch. You know that there isn't room for another person there. We'd love to have you, but you wouldn't be comfortable at all."

The look in Lucy's eyes shifted, the panic and fear being replaced by something much colder and darker than Laxus had ever seen before. Instinctively he began to shift, to place himself between the two girls, feeling somehow that what Lucy was about to do would hurt Levy more than anything Lucy had said previously. But he couldn't stop the words that came pouring out of the girl's mouth.

"Is it that you don't want me interrupting your couple's time?" Lucy said, a sickly sweet innocence in her face and a cold edge under her words. "Oh wait, that _can't_ be it. You're still sleeping on his _couch_. How many _months_ have you been together?"

Her words sounded unreasonably cruel, and even though they weren't directed at Laxus, he felt them cut him as she spoke. If that was how he felt, Levy, who they were directed to, had to feel a thousand times worse. Laxus knew that the two had been close, and he could guess that Lucy and Levy had talked about the girl's relationship with the Iron Dragon Slayer. But what Lucy said, and the cold, bitter tone she said it in…it was a _personal_ attack on Levy.

A rush of air as Levy left the room in a hurry brought the scent of salt to his eyes, but he didn't need it to know that she was crying. Looking down at the blonde on the bed, he couldn't think of anything to say but: "You're such an _asshole_, Heartfilia."

She looked up at him defiance in her eyes, but he could also see a hint of betrayal, but even more strongly was the shadow of regret as she glanced towards the door. "What, no first name?" she snapped.

"You don't deserve it, if that's how you're going to treat people who are just trying to help you," he said softly. "We're not your enemies, no matter what you think. All of us are just trying to apologize."

"I don't _want_ your damn _apologies_," Lucy hissed, balling her hands into fists. "I want my _keys_ back, and I want you out of my life. All you've done since you got back is interfere with my affairs. Go back to not giving a damn and everyone's lives will be easier."

"That's not how Fairy Tail works," he snapped, giving into her baiting. Since she had woken, he hadn't lost control of his emotions no matter what she said to him, but seeing her go after Levy like that for no reason…he was sick and tired of watching her hurt everyone for just trying to help. "And I told you. Giving you the keys right now would probably _kill_ you. None of us went to all that trouble to save you just to have you throw it away."

"What? Isn't that the Fairy Tail you wanted when you organized Fantasia?" The sickly sweet innocence had returned, but her eyes were wrong. She was hiding again, he could see it in her eyes. Whatever Lucy was saying, whatever she was trying to provoke from him, she was doing it either to keep him from seeing what she was truly feeling, or to keep herself from feeling whatever emotions were battling inside her.

"We're your nakama," he said heavily, pulling her desk chair over to the bedside. "Nakama don't let their own battle solo. And we failed you, by letting it go so long. But we're here now, trying to help you. I know that the missions you were sent on weren't easy…"

"How would you know?" she spat, and the fear was back in her eyes, battling with the pain and anger. "Just because you have my file, the mayor's file, whatever you scrounged from my room…you don't know anything."

She was right, he reflected, but only about the files. If he had only looked as far as the mayor's file and the one Lucy kept about her jobs during her contract, he wouldn't have known what the blonde went through. But he and Freed had kept looking, his captain telling him that someone as organized and detailed as Lucy would have kept records, in the event of something happening to her. And they had found them.

Lucy seemed to read some of this in his face. "You _didn't_," she whispered, reaching for the book that either Ever or Levy had left for her on the bedside table. "You didn't read my _letters_. Those were _private_!"

For a moment, Laxus considered saying yes. It was true, after all. He _had_ read the letters that she had written and saved. It had taken him a full day. But she was deflecting, trying to sound him out for information, and he knew that if he didn't come clean about what he knew now, there would be hell to pay when she found out. By that time she probably would have recovered physically as well, and be able to actually do some damage to him.

Leaving the room for a minute, he went to his study and withdrew the locked box that he and Freed had taken from Lucy's room. Other than the folder containing information about her contract, it was the only thing they hadn't returned.

When she saw the box in his hands, Lucy paled even more if that was even possible. "_How dare you_," she hissed, weakly launching the book at him. "That was supposed to never be read!"

Frustrated, Laxus set it on her desk. "We didn't know," he said bitterly. "At the time, you were still unconscious and nobody knew what had happened to you or if you would ever wake up. Freed and I made the executive decision to look through your things and see if we could find anything that might give us a clue about what had happened. What happened on the last job you took is still unknown, but thanks to you, we know what happened with the rest of them. If it matters any, your writing skill is terrific. I wouldn't mind reading something of yours in the future if you choose to write another story."

It was true. When he and Freed had read the novel she had written, he knew exactly what it was. Instead of keeping job reports, Lucy had basically written her story into a novel. Only someone who knew her would be able to retrieve the details from the novel. According to Freed, it was an ingenious way of transmitting information without it being detected, and Laxus knew that it could only be possible with a high level of creative ability. Her style was refreshing and intriguing, and even though he usually didn't read anything in the genre she chose, he would be willing to give any future novels of hers a fair chance.

"So everyone knows then?" Lucy said shortly, emotions hidden behind an emotionless façade. "You've shared your knowledge with everyone?"

"Only Freed and I read it," he told her softly. "Not even Ever and Bix know it exists. They know that we have comprehensive job reports from you, but they don't know that it came out of a novel you wrote." It had been too private. Lucy's emotions had been transcribed throughout the entire novel, almost as if it had been a diary. Her fear, grief, anger, and pain was all there, laid out on the page for everyone to see. He and Freed had both known from the start that they could never share it with anyone else.

"Get out," she said, and he saw her shoulders tremble. "I don't want to look at you anymore.

Laxus left the room, knowing that she needed the space. In all the time that he had spent with her after she had awoken, Lucy had never broken down in front of him. Or anyone, based on what he had been told. Now that she wasn't a risk to her own health, he could at least give her the privacy to cry.

Following Levy's scent, he found the girl on the front porch, gazing towards the trees that lined his clearing. Not knowing what to do, he sat down next to her.

"He said it's my choice," the woman said after a few moments of silence. She must have sensed his surprise, because she continued. "Gajeel told me that we could do whatever made me comfortable. And if we shared, it could just be platonic…"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me," Laxus hurried to say. "Nobody's hurt by this, so I don't need to know."

Levy turned to him, pain in her eyes. "What _happened_ to her?" she whispered, looking back towards the house. "Lu-chan…she never would have said any of this."

Sighing, Laxus tried to figure out how to explain it, knowing that he didn't quite understand either. "Lucy's just…part of it is that she's angry at us. We all left her alone to deal with everything. For that year, all she had were occasional letters and visits from the Raijinshu every few months. Everyone else was gone. Then when we all came back, nothing got better for her. She still felt the same isolation. I can't blame her for being bitter."

"What's the other part?" Levy asked softly.

"She's scared," he murmured. "I don't know of what or why, but you can see it in her eyes sometimes. Being out of the guild scares her, and she's taking it out on all of us. A lot of this is her trying to hide whatever else she's feeling, but some may be just her wanting to pay us back for what she's felt. It's not the Lucy you knew, I understand. But Tartarus changed all of us, and not always for the better. Lucy may be the most extreme case, but she never got the chance to heal like the rest of us. Add to that her contract and the pain that caused…she's entitled to a little bitterness. But what she said to you was both cruel and unnecessary."

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments before Laxus heard the footsteps coming down the path towards his house. "Gajeel's come to get you. Go ahead back with him; I'll handle her for the rest of the day. Lisanna's coming tomorrow?"

Levy nodded, looking towards the path where her slayer would appear. "Yeah. And Ever the day after. Are you sure you can manage on your own?"

Laxus grinned grimly. "I'll have to, won't I? She's had a shock today, so hopefully she'll simmer down soon. But Levy? I know it's a lot to ask, but please, think about forgiving her. From what I know about Lucy, when she feels better, she'll feel sorry about a lot of this."

Turning back towards him, Levy smiled softly. "I couldn't ever hate my best friend," she said, as Gajeel appeared. "No need to worry about that."

_Watching the two of them walk away, Gajeel's arm around the smaller girl's shoulders, Laxus sighed. Heading back into the house, he steeled himself to face the kraken that had now taken up residence in his spare room._

*****Hi guys! Well, since so many of you wanted to see the original, uncut versions of Chapters Twelve and Thirteen, I'll be posting them tomorrow in their own story. Look for them there.**

**On another note, Lucy's gone a bit off the deep end here. Her attack on Levy was something my beta and I spent most of our time arguing about. I just want to say that Lucy is reacting out of fear and anger, because Levy's refusal to help her go back to the guild seems like a betrayal to Lucy. At the same time though, Lucy ****_knows_**** that she's hitting below the belt, and regrets it, but can't bring herself to stop because she herself feels so hurt and afraid.**

**In other news, I'm posting a new story soon. Maybe even later today. It's not going to update as quickly as ****_Still Standing_****, but it's just for your pleasure.*****


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen:**

Laxus listened carefully as he paused between forms. Lucy had been at his house for a week and hadn't allowed him to move her out of his guest room. From the reports Levy, Mira, and Ever had given him, she hadn't left the room except to use the attached bathroom. She seemed to spend all of her time in bed, just like she had in the infirmary. He had thought that the point of moving her out of the guild was to give her more room to recuperate in.

Sighing, he turned to the next form. Who knew that being a guild master meant so much extra paperwork? _No wonder Gramps was always anxious to make me help him_.

Working on the paperwork, he paused every so often to listen for noise from Lucy's room, but at best he could only hear her heartbeat and breathing, or the occasional turned page. All she seemed to do is read. When he suggested that they start on some of the physical therapy exercises that Wendy had prescribed, she snarled at him, saying that she didn't need anyone's help.

The younger girl had been particularly depressed about the fact that Lucy would have to do physical therapy. He could remember Wendy's tears as she explained that she had gotten to Lucy too late to repair some of the extensive muscle and nerve damage from the deeper wounds, and as a result Lucy would have to spend a fair bit of time building up the strength and coordination of the damaged limbs. Laxus could see it in her trembling arms, and he wondered if some of her insistence on staying in her room was because she didn't trust her legs to support her.

He was abruptly pulled out of his pondering by the appearance of seven new scents nearby, one of them particularly vile, almost burning his nose. Tensing, he called his lightning to his hands, comforted by the familiar static feeling running along his arms. "Lucy, stay put," he called softly. "Don't move until I tell you everything's fine."

Moving quietly towards the front door, he checked the scent profiles again, and relaxed as he identified one of them. The strongest scent was still scorching his nose, but now that they were closer the others were more distinct. "Never mind Lucy, false alarm. Just an old friend coming to chat."

Hearing her snort, he wondered if she had even worried. There had been no scent of fear coming from her room when he warned her to stay put. Opening the front door, he watched as seven cloaked figures glided down the path that led to his house.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, the leading figure pushed his hood back and Jellal grinned up at Laxus. "Sorry about the shock. May I have a word with you?"

"How did you know I was shocked?" Laxus said, moving aside to hold the door for the group. "You're perfectly welcome to come in. All of you. Can I get you guys anything?"

They filed past him silently, pushing their hoods back. He recognized the former members of the Oracian Seis from the news reports after the joint guild task force that had been formed to eliminate them. So Jellal was recruiting all lost souls then? Fine by him. Cobra had been at the messy finale to the Grand Magic Games. Laxus remembered smelling that acrid scent now, and he realized how Jellal knew that he had been startled at their approach.

"The blonde's here?" the other dragon slayer asked softly as he passed. "Where's Natsu?"

"I don't know," Laxus muttered. "And I'd steer clear of her right now. She's not in the best of tempers right now."

Cobra snickered softly, joining Angel and Midnight on the couch. Hoteye had chosen to stay outside and inspect some of the shrubberies that the builders had planted around the house. Closing the door, Laxus turned to the odd group arrayed in his living room. "Can I get you guys anything? You've come a long way for a social call."

The members of Crime Sorciere shook their heads, looking at Jellal, who said: "I have something I need to discuss with you, if possible. Privately?"

"Of course," Laxus said, gesturing to the open door to his study. "And while we talk, the rest of you can help yourself to anything in the kitchen."

He heard Cobra whisper something to Angel, and wasn't surprised when the mage looked up and asked: "I heard the Celestial Mage is here. May I speak with her?"

Laxus grimaced, but who knew? It might do Lucy some good to see someone who knew nothing about what had transpired during the year and a half she had been contracted to the mayor. "If you wish. Jellal, I'll be with you in a moment."

"Of course," the blue haired man said, lingering in the doorway of his study as Laxus went down the hallway towards Lucy's room, Angel following him. Pausing, he knocked on the door before entering. As expected, Lucy was sitting on her bed, and he watched her reach for the cup on her table, probably ready to throw it at him. "None of that now," he said sternly, moving so she could see Angel behind him. "You have a visitor to see you."

Leaving the two of them, he murmured to Angel: "Whatever she does, _don't_ attack. She's a bit…_fragile_ right now."

Before he joined Jellal in his study, he caught Cobra's eye. "If you hear things getting…harsh…between them, come get me." Hopefully that would forestall the five remaining Oracian Seis members attacking Lucy when she invariably drove Angel to the breaking point.

Finally closing the door to his study, he sat at his desk, looking at Jellal who had taken the seat across from him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Congratulations on your appointment as Master, I think," Jellal said, chuckling slightly. "But you and I both know that I've come for something else."

"It's quite a trip for congratulations," Laxus agreed, moving aside some paperwork he had been working on. He couldn't remember seeing any reports of recent dark guild activity, but Jellal would know more than him in this situation. "How can Fairy Tail help?"

"I'm here about Erza Scarlet," Jellal said quietly. "It's a bit of a personal matter."

_Ah_, Laxus thought, noting the slight blush. He had thought the two had interacted strangely during the Grand Magic Games. So the two of them had a history? This could be interesting.

"What did our Titania do this time?" Laxus chuckled, knowing what Erza was capable of when she went on the warpath. "And how much do I have to pay in damages?"

Jella shook his head. "I would like you to order her back to Fairy Tail," he said softly. "She has been too long away from her family."

"I thought the rumor was that she had gone to the Magic Council to look for you?" Laxus said, remembering hearing Mira and Cana gossiping one evening at the bar.

The other man grimaced. "She did," Jellal admitted. "But that is not the life for her. Her happiness is with Fairy Tail. I was hoping that once you started the guild, she would return, but she's shown no indication of stopping her pursuit."

"And if she wants to stay with the Magic Council, why should I force her back to Fairy Tail?" Laxus could easily see the merits of having Erza Scarlet return to Fairy Tail. He would get his one true S Class mage back, since Mira didn't really go out on jobs, and Gildarts wasn't one for hanging around and doing normal missions. When he had started the guild, he had temporarily promoted the Raijinshu to S class, but he had to hold the exams to confirm them. However, he had resolved not to meddle in his guildmates' affairs.

"If Erza keeps chasing after me, I'm afraid she will get hurt," Jellal said quietly. "My guildmates and I walk a dark road, and Erza does not belong where the sun does not shine. I would like to spare her from as much darkness as I can."

Leaning back, Laxus considered the mage in front of him. The man cared for Erza, he could tell, and he was certainly honest in his reasoning. But he knew Erza Scarlet. "She won't just come back because I order her to," he said slowly. "I'll need something to tempt her back."

"Isn't her team enough?" Jellal asked. "If Fairy Tail itself wasn't good enough reason for her to return?"

Grimacing, Laxus said: "Her team currently is in the wind. Erza's the only member we can get a location for right now."

Jellal looked confused. "I thought Lucy Heartfilia had remained with Fairy Tail despite its disbanding."

"She's recovering from some severe injuries right now," Laxus said shortly. "It will be a month before she will be able to go out on jobs again. If she cooperates with her recovery."

Opening his mouth to speak, Jellal looked as if he was going to ask more questions, but several things happened at once. Laxus got an idea, the communications lacrima on his desk nearly fell of his desk as it emerged violently from under a stack of paperwork, and Cobra burst in.

Ignoring Jellal and the communications lacrima for the moment, Laxus stood and turned to Cobra. "Insults or projectiles?"

The other slayer looked confused. "What?"

"Ah, Laxus? You might want to answer this…" Jellal said, pointing to the communications lacrima. "It's the guild hall."

"They can wait," the lightning dragon slayer said curtly as he moved towards the door. "I'm currently about to stop your guildmates from murdering one of mine. Cobra, is she crying or yelling?"

"Um neither?" the other man said, still confused. "She's running."

"Impossible," Laxus said, stepping out into the hallway. "Lucy can't run. Her legs were damaged."

"Wait, Lucy?" Cobra asked, wide-eyed. "No, I came in here because…"

"Didn't Lucy manage to upset Angel?" Laxus said, just as confused now. If the other man hadn't come in to tell him that Lucy was about to have the members of Crime Sorciere descending upon her because she had said something to Angel, what had him looking so worried?

"No. they're fine. I actually came here because I smelled-"

"LAXUS!" a voice roared as his front door burst open and a red blur crashed through. "What have you done to her?"

"Erza?" he heard Jellal say, as the girl paused in the middle of a living room filled with the members of Crime Sorciere. Meredy had frozen with a cup of tea halfway to her mouth, and there was an open package of cookies sitting on the coffee table.

"Jellal?" she gasped.

*****Well, this is going to change a few things. Laxus, Lucy, Jellal, and Erza all in close proximity. Oh the fun we can have.*****


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen:**

Laxus was infinitely glad that the sight of the blue haired man and his guild had made her stop long enough that nothing in his house was broken before he managed to calm her down. However, the situation was still tense, as she held a sword in her hand, and all of the visible members of Crime Sorciere except for Meredy and Jellal looked seconds away from jumping into a fight.

Sighing, he said: "Ground rules here people. No breaking my house. If you're going to fight, take it outside. Otherwise, put away the weapons now and let's figure this out."

"Where's Lucy?" Erza spat, pointing her sword at him, eyes murderous. "They said that she was here, injured. What have you done?"

_Shit_. Mira or whoever she had talked to must not have been able to explain the situation to her before she stormed off. He realized that he should have answered the communications lacrima earlier. Some warning might have been nice. Carefully moving his hands into view and into a non-threatening position, he said slowly: "Lucy's recovering from an injury and needed a place to stay Erza. I had a spare room, and the time to keep an eye on her, so she's staying with me for the time being. She was hurt on a mission, but Wendy says in time she'll make a full recovery."

The sword's point didn't move. "Take me to her."

"Not until you put the sword away Erza," he sighed. "If she's going to stay here, my house needs to stay in one piece. And you've startled my guests. So why don't we calm down, and then you can see Lucy?"

"No need for that," Lucy's voice sounded from the hallway where she leaned casually against the hallway wall. "I'm right here." Angel stood behind her, face unreadable.

Laxus couldn't help but be surprised as he looked at Lucy. It was the first time he had seen her stand since the day in the guild when she had nearly died. But she gave no indication that she had spent the past three weeks almost exclusively in bed.

The redhead turned to look at the blonde girl, but the sword remained in place. "Lucy, did he hurt you?"

_Not a good question_, Laxus groaned mentally, knowing what the girl could say and hoping that he could lightning teleport faster than Erza could react.

"I was injured while on a job," Lucy said coldly, glaring at Laxus. "It was decided that the remainder of my recovery would take place at Laxus's home."

Erza's stance relaxed, and the sword disappeared. "I was afraid that he was bullying you," the redhead said, closing the distance between them and reaching out to pull Lucy into a hug. However, before she could touch her, Lucy pushed her hands away.

"Lucy?" Erza said confusedly. "I took a few days off when I didn't hear from you for four weeks to come see you. You usually write every week. When I got to the guild, they said you were hurt and staying here."

"It's nice to know that you care," Lucy said acidly, ignoring the pain the flashed across her friend's face. Laxus sighed. _Here we go again_.

"Erza," Jellal murmured, distracting the redhead. Laxus could have hugged him for that. Explaining the new Lucy to people, especially people who knew her well, was a nightmare.

"Why are you here Jellal?" the sword mage said, turning to the blue haired man. "I've been looking for you for a year and a half."

Before Jellal could say anything, Laxus remembered the idea that had come to him before the interruptions. Cutting in, he said: "Jellal came to ask if Crime Sorciere could join Fairy Tail, with specialized arrangements, of course."

"What?" several voices exclaimed, and Laxus saw that Jellal looked like a startled animal. Taking a deep breath, he began to explain.

"He knew that many of Fairy Tail's original mages hadn't returned yet, and we're still trying to get our footing again, so he came by to offer to merge his guild into ours, if his members approve of course. They would still mainly be focused on hunting down dark guilds, but Fairy Tail would give them a place to return to, as well as comrades who would have their backs in a fight. Fairy Tail would gain powerful mages to augment our ranks…it's a win-win situation for everyone. We wouldn't have to make any special arrangements, since Meredy never was in trouble with the council, and the rest were pardoned after the council was destroyed. The only person who might be a problem is Jellal, but he can just be Mystogun in public. I know Doranbolt doesn't mind him so much now, but it's best not to push his buttons too much."

Jellal gaped at him, but recovered quickly as he realized that if he were part of Fairy Tail, Erza would likely be tempted to rejoin in order to stay close to him. Once she was back, Laxus could help him keep her from following on their missions. Laxus and Cobra shared an amused glance as Cobra heard Jellal's thoughts and Laxus saw the gears turning in his head.

"Jellal, is that true?" Erza whispered, hope blooming in her face.

"If the others wish it to be," he said, glancing around the room. "I did not want to tell them, because I wasn't sure if Laxus would accept, but since he has, I would like to propose it. It is tiresome, always moving from place to place without a real home."

She looked as if she was about to hug him, and Laxus nearly snickered at the sight of the feared sword mage acting like Mira on one of her ditzy days. Before anyone could say anything else, he cleared his throat.

"I know everyone has a lot to think about, so why don't we take a break for the day? Jellal, you talk it over with your guild and anyone interested in joining can come back tomorrow so we can finalize the details. Erza, I know you're dying to catch up with Lucy, but I don't think now is a good time. Perhaps tomorrow, or another day. Will you need a place to stay? We've opened the guild to anyone who needs a temporary space to stay. Just talk to one of the Raijinshu. Ah, and if you wouldn't mind keeping quiet on this matter, I would appreciate it."

Coming back to herself, the redhead nodded. "I'll return right away," she said, heading for the door. "I apologize for the interruption, and you have my silence. Jellal, perhaps we could catch up soon?"

The blue haired mage nodded. "It would be a pleasure," he said quietly, with a slight bow. "Tomorrow morning perhaps?"

"I'll be at the guild," Erza promised as she left.

Jellal eyed Laxus warily. "I need to speak with my guild, if that's all right with you?"

"Of course. I know it's a lot to take in all at once. If you guys need a place to stay or meals, feel free to come by. Or if you want to make camp, people rarely come out this way unless they're looking for me, so it's safe out here. Whatever you choose, let me know if I can help." Out of the corner of his eye, he was watching Lucy grow paler and paler.

His visitors showed themselves quietly out, leaving no sign of their presence but a half-finished cup of tea and an open package of cookies.

Laxus looked at Lucy fully and wondered how she was still managing to look casual with her legs trembling underneath her. Moving towards her, he went to pick her up but she pushed him away and stumbled backwards.

"Back off!" she hissed, fighting to stay upright. "I got here without help, I'll go back on my own power."

"Lucy," he began, but her legs gave out and she tumbled to the ground with a snarl. He lunged forward, but the look on her face stopped him. Self-loathing and shame were stamped across her features as she struggled to pull herself upright. He realized that she would rather crawl down the hall than have to be carried. Lucy Heartfilia was as proud as he was.

Funnily enough, he didn't pity her as he looked at where she had fallen. He _understood_ her better now. Some of her attitude made sense now. Being constantly being told what she had to do, not given a chance to voice her own wishes…he would throw things too.

Holding out his hand, he said quietly: "Why don't you rest for a bit on the couch and then you can go back when you're ready? Unless you want to sit here and rest."

Lucy looked at his hand warily, as if she thought it was a trick, but she grasped it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Laxus subtly shifted so that he was bearing the majority of her weight as she leaned on his arm, and they slowly made their way over to the couch. She lowered herself onto the couch, her face blank of emotion, and Laxus wondered if she would be more cooperative if he asked her opinion more often. It would be nice to not have things thrown at him.

"Looks like Meredy made some tea. That actually sounds good. I'm going to make myself some." Grabbing the tea cup from the table, he headed into the kitchen, turning his stereo system. "Hope you don't mind the music, it's been a bit quiet in here recently. The remote's somewhere if you want to change it."

He dawdled over making the tea as long as possible, giving her as much time as he thought he could without it seeming obvious. When he returned, he set the mug of tea within her reach before picking up a nearby book. "Hmm, if Cobra decides to join, I should loan him this. Freed gave it to me when I asked a question on dragon slayers. It actually was pretty informative." Setting it down in a place where she wouldn't have to move too much, he turned to head for his study.

"You asked Jellal and the others to join to get Erza back, didn't you?"

Turning as he heard Lucy's voice, Laxus shrugged, hiding his astonishment behind a sip of his tea. When had Lucy gotten this perceptive? "Perhaps I just wanted to have the other second generation dragon slayer around so I wouldn't be as outnumbered by the first generations. We have the complete first generation collection, so why not the second?"

She snorted. "I've helped you with the guild's paperwork. We're not getting many S-class level jobs because Mira's our only true S-class present. Gajeel's at her level, and you promoted the Raijinshu, but none of them are properly S-class in the end. Clients are skeptical of us, just like they were after the seven years we were trapped on Tenrou. But if we could bring Erza back, we have a dedicated S-class mage who's widely recognized for her power, as well as her work with the Magic Council this past year. However, Erza's not coming back until she catches up to Jellal. So, to get her, you need him. And if he joins, you get the addition of seven powerful mages, which will help as well. They may not go out on very many missions, but the rumor of their power will bolster us up until the rest of Team Natsu comes back. With one out of three members back, we stand a better chance of bringing the other two back as well."

Laxus stared at her. Lucy had just given him a precise analysis of all of the benefits of having Jellal join the guild, including several that he hadn't thought of initially. Wondering if she had always had this keen a mind, he said: "What are the disadvantages of my offer?"

"There's the risk that comes from taking in five former criminals. Hoteye has shown true remorse for his actions, but several of the others are still unknown factors, although under Jellal, they most likely have at least demonstrated some remorse. Cobra, in particular, has already demonstrated a respect for the law during the Eclipse Gate incident. Natsu will probably try and fight at least one of them initially, so there's the physical cost of repairing the guild. Certainly the other legal guilds will be wary initially, especially Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale, but you could hold a meeting with Jellal, Ooba Babasaama, and Master Bob where you explained the situation. We do have to be careful with Jellal, but we managed to have him compete with Jura during the Grand Magic Games while being disguised as Mystogun, so we could use that disguise again. Besides, very few people alive know about Jellal and the Magic Council, and Doranbolt's already looked the other way before, so if a slip occurs, there's less at stake. Funnily enough, I think Jellal's the only one who benefited from Tartarus's rampage."

Laughing, Laxus said: "Why didn't you become Master? You seem to have gotten everything all worked out."

Lucy glared at him. "I didn't want it," she said coldly, her earlier patience with him gone in an instant. "I'm not cut out to be a guild master."

Not wanting to push her too hard, Laxus changed the subject. "Since I made the offer, I'll need to speak with the Raijinshu and Mira tonight. Is it okay if I invite them to talk over dinner?"

Shrugging, Lucy turned her face away to look out his front window. "Your house, your guests."

"I figured I would ask you first, since you're staying here for the time being," he said. "Is there anything in particular that you want for dinner?"

"No," she said dully. "I'm not that hungry anyway."

Silently, Laxus sighed. He had managed to coax some emotion out of her today that wasn't anger or sadness, and they had carried on a conversation that didn't involve yelling. Plus, to his knowledge, she hadn't insulted anyone or thrown anything. In the scheme of things, it was a particularly _good_ day for her. "Well, I'm going to go finish some work and call the guild and let them know that they should come over this evening. Is there anything else you need?"

"Keep Erza away from me," she said softly, so softly that he wouldn't have heard it without his enhanced hearing. "I don't want to see anyone from Team Natsu."

"If that's what you want," he said, surprised. Laxus had thought that her teammates would be the people she wanted to see the most. Entering his office, he set his tea on his desk and reached for his communications lacrima.

Evergreen picked it up. "Laxus, thank goodness! I was trying to reach you earlier, but I couldn't…"

"I hope you were going to give me warning about Erza?" he growled, remembering how close he had come to being skewered by the swordsmage.

"We couldn't keep her here long enough to really explain the situation. She just stormed in, demanding to know where Lucy was. Someone told her that Lucy had been hurt, and then she nearly cut Levy open trying to find out where Lucy was. Mira had gone out shopping, and I was upstairs, but by the time I got down there, she was already on her way."

"Well, thanks for the warning," he said. "And new rules. Nobody from Team Natsu is allowed to come to the house unless specifically asked for."

"What, did Erza break something?" Ever asked, snickering.

He glared at her. "No, but only because I had other guests who startled her before she could. Lucy asked me not to let any of Team Natsu near her, and since it's the first thing she's asked without throwing something, I'm inclined to say yes. And not just because I don't want my house destroyed."

Ever's eyes widened. "_Lucy_ asked you not to let them in? Without yelling at you?"

He took a sip of his tea. "She's had a good day today. We had a civil conversation. She's currently on the couch, and as far as I know, she hasn't thrown anything or insulted anyone, for which I'm incredibly grateful. When Cobra came in to tell me about Erza, I was afraid that Lucy had just singlehandedly started a war with the former Oracian Seis in my house."

"Wait, hold on, you thought Lucy had started a war with the _Oracian Seis_?" Ever shrieked, causing Laxus to cover his ears. "What were they doing in your _house_?"

He had forgotten about explaining that particular part of his afternoon to her before getting sidetracked with Lucy. "Jellal picked them up and they're part of Crime Sorceire now. That's mainly why I'm calling. We had a conversation this afternoon and I want to discuss it with the Raijinshu and Mira. Can you all come over for dinner tonight?"

Nodding, Ever said: "I take it that Lisanna doesn't need to come replace you so you can stop by tonight then?"

"No, not tonight. Since she's having a good day, I'm hesitant to wreck it unless necessary. I wouldn't have the four of you over if it weren't absolutely critical that we all talk tonight."

"You said she's having a good day? I've forgotten what that looks like with her."

He chuckled slightly. "She's had at least one civil conversation, and she's sitting on the couch right now, so I'm calling it a good day. Now, dinner?"

"I'll make sure the others are there," she promised. "Okay if we're there about half past six?"

"Not a problem. Oh, and if you guys could bring some blank membership forms, that would help. Also, if Mira could bring a spare stamp too."

Ever looked puzzled, but agreed. Hanging up, Laxus checked the clock and realized that he had just a little bit of time before he needed to start cooking. Pulling the closest form towards him, he began working on it.

*****Well, that wraps up that confrontation. Glad to see everyone was happy to see Erza and Crime Sorciere. Sorry this is a bit late!*****


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen:**

"Come in!" Laxus called from the kitchen as he dumped the pasta into the strainer. Above the scents of sauce and garlic bread, he heard Freed's polite knock at the door.

His team chorused their hellos to Lucy, who for some reason was _still_ in the living room, although she had changed his stereo system to play something classical that he didn't even know he had. Since it was the first time she had left her room since she had arrived, he was going to let her decide when she was going back at her own pace. Neither Freed, Mira, nor Bix seemed to make a fuss over seeing Lucy in the living room, so Ever must have told them about the progress she had made today.

Mira smiled as she joined him at the sink. "Everything smells good!" she chirped, sniffing the sauce as it simmered on the stove. "Is this mine?"

"Yeah," Laxus said, grabbing oven mitts. "Levy and Ever stocked me from the guild supplies when Lucy moved in. Ever says it's better for you than the stuff they sell in jars."

"Need any help?"

"Can you grab the bread out of the oven?" he said, passing her the oven mitts. "I need to get the table set." He rarely used the dining room, choosing to eat in his kitchen since Lucy had so far refused to join him at any meal, and as a result the table had been covered with dust. Because he had to clear it off, he hadn't been able to get the dishes out.

"We can help with that," Ever said, appearing in the kitchen with Bix. The Raijinshu had slowly been warming up to him after their initial frostiness after his role in Lucy's contract had been discovered, but Ever seemed to have forgiven him. It could just be pity though, since her attitude had changed the day Lucy had managed to throw one of his better efforts at one of Wendy's recipes and actually hit him. Bix was coming around too, but Freed was still reserved with him.

"Thanks guys. Ever, can you put the tablecloth down? Bix, the silverware's in the drawer next to the fridge." Opening a cupboard, Laxus grabbed a stack of plates and followed his teammates into the dining room. Setting the plates on the side table, Laxus helped Ever settle the tablecloth before laying out the plates. He had never pictured himself to be one for tablecloths or even anything remotely domestic, but the tablecloth just seemed to fit the room's mood, so he bore with it. And one typically learns to cook unless one wishes to _starve_.

With the plates set out, Laxus returned to the kitchen where he found Freed had joined Mira, who was currently stirring the sauce on the stove. Not sure what his captain's mood was, he moved to grab glasses from the cabinet without disturbing the pair.

"Ever was right, she's having a good day." Laxus turned to see Freed measuring him with his eyes. "What's different about today?"

"I don't know," Laxus admitted, glancing at the wall that hid Lucy from his sight. "She spent the morning cooped up in her room, and most of the afternoon as well. Angel talked with her, and then when Erza came, she got a little frosty with her and snapped at me. After they left and she collapsed, I helped her over to the couch, left a mug of tea and a book nearby, turned on the stereo, and went back to my study. I figured that she would be back in her room right now, but I'm letting her pace this however she wants. How was she with you?"

Freed shrugged. "Lucy greeted us as if we were acquaintances, rather than nakama, almost as if she had run into us at the guild before Fantasia. No particular emotions attached to the greeting. She was reading when we came in, and returned to the book when she had finished greeting us. You said she spoke with Angel? As in the former Oracian Seis member?"

"That's what I plan to talk about over dinner," Laxus said, but was interrupted by a voice from the doorway.

"Is dinner ready?" Three heads turned to see Lucy leaning on a sheepish looking Jellal's arm in the doorway. Laxus was the first to recover.

"Just about, I think. We just have to get it into serving dishes, but that shouldn't take more than a minute. Jellal, I'm glad you could make it. The others will want to hear your take on the situation. I assume Lucy let you in? Will your guild be joining us?"

"They have decided to go into Magnolia for the evening, taking appropriate precautions of course. Cobra has remained at our camp nearby, but he assures me that he is quite content there. I hope I am not intruding?" Jellal's voice was steady, but Laxus could see how awkward the other man felt.

"Of course not," Laxus said smoothly, gesturing towards the dining room. "Why don't you two go have a seat and the rest of us will join you shortly? I haven't had a minute to let my team know that I had invited you to dinner, so please don't feel that you're uninvited, merely unexpected by most."

Jellal opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but Lucy tugged on his arm and began to slowly walk towards the dining room. Laxus watched out of the corner of his eye, but Mira and Freed were openly staring.

As soon as the two were out of immediate earshot, Mira turned to Laxus: "Is he the reason she's in a good mood today?"

"I have no idea," he said sighing. "That's the first time I've seen them together." He didn't think there was anything going on between the two mages, since Jellal clearly seemed interested in Erza. Lucy appearing on his arm was probably because her legs were still recovering. Laxus had caught sight of them trembling again as she stood with Jellal.

"Why is he here?" Freed asked suspiciously, casting a glance at the doorway. Ever and Bix were speaking with Lucy in the other room, so they had some cover other than the music which was still playing.

"He arrived earlier to talk to me about something personal, and I invited him to join Fairy Tail." At their stunned looks, Laxus shrugged and dumped the pasta into a bowl. Grabbing the pot of sauce, he added it to the pasta and mixed. "It has a lot of benefits and some drawbacks, but I think we can minimize negative effects."

"Is that why we're here?" Mira asked, transferring the garlic bread to a basket. "You wanted our opinions?"

"Got it in one," Laxus said, picking up the pasta. "Now, are you ready to eat? Freed, can you bring the two pitchers please? I'll come out for the salad I have in the fridge in a minute."

Once they had all settled around the table and everyone had food on their plates, Laxus started the conversation. "Well, now that we're all settled, let's begin. Today, Jellal paid me a visit and I extended an invitation for his guild to join Fairy Tail. Who has the first question?"

"Why?" Bix said immediately. "No offense man, but I don't understand why? Crime Sorciere is an independent guild."

"Made up of ex-criminals," Laxus heard Jellal mutter.

"You four know as well as I do that we don't have any real S-class members available to take jobs at the moment. Mira, you're certainly qualified, but you tend to stay at the guild, and we definitely need you there. Ever, Freed, and Bix, I know I promoted you, but since you haven't been confirmed through the S-class trials, clients are skeptical, even though I'm not. Add to that the fact that right now you're more helpful in getting the guild organized and running than out in the field. I'm now guild master, and can't leave on jobs. So that leaves us with no active S-class members."

"Are you saying you're adding Crime Sorciere just because you need powerful members?" Ever sniffed.

"No," Laxus said. "I'm bringing Fairy Tail members home."

"I don't understand," Ever and Bix chorused, but Laxus could tell that Mira had guessed at least part of it, given the hearts in her eyes. Freed was the first to speak though.

"You're inviting them to stay in hopes of causing Erza to stay," he said shrewdly, glancing at Jellal, who had turned pink around the edges where he sat next to Lucy, who was calmly eating her dinner as if nothing was going on around her.

"Erza came back today though," Ever said. "I saw her at the guild."

"She came back to check on Lucy," Laxus said, observing the girl out of the corner of her eye. "They had been writing to each other, but with Lucy's injuries, she hasn't been keeping up and Erza got worried. But she just took a few days off to check on Lucy. As soon as her leave's over, she'll return, leaving us without a proper S-class again."

"So you're inviting Crime Sorciere to stay in the hopes of persuading Erza to stay, because she won't have to chase him across the kingdom?" Mira said slyly.

Holding in a snicker as he saw Jellal's expression change to one of utter embarrassment, Laxus said: "I invited Crime Sorciere to join Fairy Tail as a splinter group affiliated to Fairy Tail to give them a place to stay and bolster our ranks, since many of our nakama haven't yet returned. On top of the list are the missing members of Team Natsu, with Erza being the only one we have a known location on. If we bring one home, then the others may follow, especially since the news of Erza's return will probably spread quite widely."

"So you're hoping to use Erza as bait to draw in Natsu and Grey. We already have Gajeel, Shadow Gear, Wendy, Elfman, Lisanna, Cana, and Gildarts though. It's not as if the entirety of Team Tenrou is gone again. I don't see why we're lacking in firepower." Bix said stubbornly.

Laxus chuckled. "First of all, the day when we reliably have Gildarts is the day when I announce that I'm a girl. That man loves to wander more than anything. He'll stop by from time to time, but I have a feeling he won't stay at the guild unless he's too old to go out on jobs. Gajeel, Elfman, and Cana are big names, but it's Team Natsu that brings the attention to Fairy Tail. Natsu's become synonymous with our guild, and his absence makes people question our ability to do jobs. I know, we have strong and powerful mages, but they're used to reading about Team Natsu's latest rampage when they hear about us. None of our mages are more important than the others when it comes to our guild. But in terms of public perception…we look weak and people are just as unsure of us as they were during the seven years we were trapped on Tenrou."

"So we're taking on Crime Sorciere in exchange for Erza and the possibility that we'll bring back Grey and Natsu as well? Seven for three? What if it doesn't bring the others back in the end?" Ever asked.

"We've gained seven strong mages, who are notorious in their own fashion. While they may not ever be S-class, Crime Sorciere is known in to mages for their handling of dark guilds during the seven years we were away. Add the ex-Oracian Seis members, one third of the Balem Alliance, we will still retain the same name boost. But it's more than just our missing members."

Laxus looked around the table. "I know that the members of Crime Sorciere have done bad things in their pasts. But they've served their time and repented, and are working on absolving themselves of their sins. So why shouldn't we give them a place to come home to, and a place to belong to? All of us in Fairy Tail mess up, and we've all had our own problems, so what makes them different?"

Ever took a quick glance at Jellal, who was studying his plate, and said quietly: "They _hurt_ people Laxus. They were in _jail_."

Freed fixed her with a stare. "You participated in the Battle of Fairy Tail Evergreen. Which side were you on?"

"Nobody got hurt!" she protested, but a voice from the other end of the table startled them all.

"Bisca. Juvia. Cana. Elfman. Alzack. Erza. The majority of the male members of the guild. I nearly died before the real fighting even began, just so Laxus could prove how serious he was." Lucy placed her fork neatly on her empty plate before she continued speaking in the calmest voice any of them had heard from her recently. "And Laxus was willing to use Fairy Law on the entire town after the Thunder Palace failed. It was only a matter of good fortune that he still loved his nakama, or all of us would have been wiped out."

At Laxus's startled glance, she said: "Levy and I used to talk a lot. But returning to the case in question. Only Mira, Jellal, and I weren't on the aggressor side of the Battle of Fairy Tail. However, the fact that we're all sitting here having this conversation means that the guild forgave you for hurting them that day. Laxus peacefully became our master. Therefore nobody has the right to point fingers. Adding Crime Sorciere to Fairy Tail doesn't make us any less Fairy Tail. Most likely, they will be somewhat like Gildarts, or the Raijinshu before Fantasia, always off on whatever job or mission best suits them. Nobody made this much of a fuss admitting Gajeel and Juvia, and they participated in a direct attack on Fairy Tail with no provocation. So, if you're all done with that train of arguments, I think you should move on to more important considerations, such as chain of command, how you'll deal with job assignment, and interguild relationships with other legal guilds who have brushed up against Crime Sorciere in the past." Gathering her plate and glass, she pushed back from the table and limped into the kitchen. Laxus heard her deposit her dishes in the sink and then limp back to her room.

Sighing, he looked around at the surprised faces at the table. "Well then. She never stops surprising me these days. Is there anything else anyone wants to say, or can I assume that nobody has a problem with any interested members of Crime Sorciere joining Fairy Tail as a subgroup under the leadership of Jellal?"

Mute nods were seen around the table, and Laxus reached for the pitcher of water and filled his glass. "Now on to the logistics…"

*****And Lucy schools the Raijinshu. Unfortunately, I'm pretty busy so I don't have a lot of time to chat now. There's some fun moments in the next chapter though, so stay tuned.*****


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen:**

After everyone had left, and he had cleaned up the mess he had made while cooking, Laxus checked in on Lucy. No response came when he knocked on her door, so he carefully opened it, on alert for the sounds of something being thrown at him. However, none came, and he found her leaning against her dresser, halfway between her bed and the bathroom door. Given the towel next to her, he guessed that she had been trying to go to the bathroom.

Slowly walking towards her, he said: "Looks like you were going to take a bath. Do you want me to see if Levy or Ever can come out?"

"No," she snapped, struggling to try and get to her feet. "I can manage by myself."

He watched her for a moment. "Want a hand getting up at least?"

"Fine," she said, dejectedly reaching a trembling hand for his. Pulling her upright, he started to guide her to the bathroom, but she clung to the dresser, stopping him. "If I'm going to take a bath, you'll probably need to stick around afterwards. So that means I'm going to need a few more things to before I can take a bath."

She blushed slightly and started rummaging through the drawers before pulling out a few things, all the while doing her best to conceal the contents from Laxus. He gulped nervously as he realized what she meant, and looked away. Natsu and Grey used to come into the guild looking as if they had just challenged a dark guild, usually with Lucy on their heels yelling at them for peeking on her in the bath or rummaging through her drawers. Even though she was injured now, he wasn't going to try and push her buttons.

When she had gotten what she wanted, Lucy tugged him towards the bathroom, and he supported her carefully. He thought that she would let go of him once she reached the bathroom, but Lucy clung to his arm and he had no choice but to join her in the bathroom.

"Could you get the water started?" she muttered irritably. "Using utensils at dinner took more coordination than I have."

As she sat on the edge of the tub and arranged her things so she could reach them, Laxus turned on the water, unsure of her temperature preferences. "Is this warm enough?" he asked, dipping his fingers in the water and sprinkling the drops on her skin.

"A little warmer," she said absently, looking around the bathroom. He noticed her hands were trembling more violently now. "Do you have a spare, dark colored sheet? Something twin-sized, that you don't mind getting wet?"

"Yeah," Laxus said, confused. He found her request particularly odd, even though they came from a guild where chaos reigned supreme. "You okay if I leave for a minute to go get it?"

"Please," she said, turning back to the side of the bathtub where an array of toiletries stood. "I think I can manage to keep an eye on the water on my own."

Getting up, he hurried to the hall closet and found an old set of black sheets that he hadn't used for years. Laxus grabbed the flat sheet and brought it back into the bathroom. Lucy had just turned off the water, and was waiting for him when he entered.

"Set that right there," she said, indicating an empty place next to her towel. "I've realized that I can't wash my hair by myself today, so I'm going to need you to help. Because getting into a bathing suit is going to be more effort for me than it's worth, here's how this is going to work. In a minute, you're going to leave the room and I will get into the bath and wash up. When it's time to do my hair, I'm going to call you back in. At that point, I will have wrapped myself in the sheet, so neither of us should feel awkward." Her voice was clipped, and Laxus realized that her pride was suffering again, having to admit to being unable to wash her own hair.

Nodding, he said: "I don't know how to wash someone else's hair though. Will that be a problem?"

Lucy shook her head. "I can tell you what to do. The only thing I need of you is your functioning hands. Now leave, and I'll call you in a few minutes."

As soon as the bathroom door clicked shut, he heard the sound of rustling fabric and water being displaced. Leaning against the door, he couldn't help but feel like a voyeur as he waited for her to call him in.

When she did, he kept his eyes downcast and avoided looking at the girl in the tub until he had to. Even then, he kept his eyes focused on her face. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked quietly, kneeling by her head next to the tub.

"Shampoo's in the pink bottle. Pour a decent sized dollop into your hand, enough to pretty much cover about half of your palm, and then start rubbing it into my hair. I'm going to dunk my head right now to get it wet, but once you've put the shampoo into my hair, you need to make sure all of the hair comes into contact with the shampoo."

"Got it," he muttered, glancing uncertainly between the shampoo bottle and her head. As Lucy went under, he picked up the bottle and squirted some of it into his hands. Smelling strawberries, he realized that her shampoo gave her the scent all dragon slayers had learned to associate with her. Strawberries and vanilla.

"Any time now," she said, emerging from under the water. "Just try not to pull too much. I'm not able to keep it brushed and tangle free since it's so long now."

"Why don't you cut it?" Laxus asked curiously as he started to rub the shampoo into her hair. "If it's hard to take care of now, why not cut it shorter?"

"I need Cancer if I'm going to cut it," Lucy said shortly. "I don't trust anyone else with my hair."

"Do you want to cut your hair short?" Laxus said, finishing up shampooing her hair. "You can rinse your hair now."

She dunked her head under the water, and he could see her hands wrestling with the strands, trying to get the soap out. When she remerged, Lucy said: "Now, do the same thing, but with the white bottle. That's conditioner. And I don't know if I want to cut my hair. It's not worth considering if I had Cancer. But if I had him, he could take care of my hair, which is the problem I'm trying to solve by cutting it."

Rubbing the conditioner into her hair, Laxus said: "What if I let you have Cancer for a couple of hours? He could cut your hair for you and make it easier to keep clean."

"You would let me see him?" Lucy splashed water out of the tub as she sat up and twisted to look at Laxus. He was taken aback by the hope in her eyes. Since the day she had nearly died, her eyes had flickered between apathy and rage, but hope was a new emotion.

"If it would make it easier for you to care for yourself," he responded. "But in return you have to do something for me."

She began to shut down again. "What?" she snapped dully.

"Start working on your rehabilitation. Even if you were to get your keys back right now, you wouldn't be able to do anything. If you do them tomorrow, and promise to keep up with them for a week, I'll bring Cancer's key to you for a few hours. Not tomorrow, because I'll be dealing with Crime Sorciere, but the day after that."

"Cancer _and_ Virgo," Lucy said stubbornly. "I would like _my_ clothes and Virgo has them. She also has a few other personal items that I want."

"I get to check everything she gives you," Laxus said automatically. "And I thought you had clothes. You can rinse again."

When she surfaced, she glared at him. "All I want are books and a few other things from my old apartment that I didn't have space for at the guild. And the clothes I have here are my old clothes, from before Tartarus. I don't want to wear them. Levy and Ever replaced them, instead of asking me what ones I wanted."

"What clothes do you want?" Laxus said. "We can get you whatever you need."

"I already owe you three million jewels," Lucy said, tugging the wet sheet closer around her shoulders. "There's no need to increase my debt."

"Consider it me paying my debt to you," he said quietly. "And I'm still working on paying it. How did you know I paid it? Nobody but Freed knew that you had a personal debt as well as the guild's debt."

"The contract stated that as soon as I paid off the guild's debt, I would have to pay my personal debt. Since I haven't been contacted by the mayor, I could only assume that my personal debt had been paid, and since anytime I've tried to get information from the others, they only mention the guild's debt, I figured that you were the one who paid it. So, can I see Virgo and Cancer?"

Laxus sighed. "If that's what you wish. You have to promise to do your exercises for a week and a half then. And if your magic's too low, you have to space them out."

"Deal," Lucy said. "Now, get out so I can get out of the bath."

Without a word, he left the bathroom, resuming his post against the wall. Surprisingly enough, that situation had gone pretty well. He had figured that she would find some accident of his to nitpick over, but her civil streak had continued despite the high potential for awkwardness.

"I'm decent," she called through the door, and he could hear how tired she was. Opening the door, he found her propped up against the counter, dressed in a sports bra and black shorts, putting a toothbrush in the holder. Stepping backwards, he dropped his eyes, trying not to look at her.

"What, you haven't seen a girl before?" she teased, but he could tell that her heart wasn't in it.

"Just expected a little less…skin when you said you were decent." Laxus commented, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor. "And you've beaten up Grey and Natsu for intruding on you before, so I'd like to _not_ get beaten to a pulp."

"If I didn't think that this was an acceptable level of skin to be showing, I wouldn't have called you in," Lucy said, reaching for something on the counter. He could hear her fumbling to grasp it. "You've just gotten used to me not showing any. Stop looking at the floor unless there's something in particular you find interesting there."

With her permission, he raised his eyes and saw her clumsily struggling to brush her hair. But what first caught his attention was the scroll-like tattoo across her collarbone.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo," he said quietly. "Is it new?" Now that the initial shock of the tattoo was gone, he saw the angry red and pale white of new and old scars all over her skin. Even her face had scars, and he wondered why he hadn't seen them before. But the tattoo was undisturbed, despite the presence of several scars that should have passed through it.

"It's not mine," she said, struggling with a knot in her hair. "It's Aquarius's." Seeing his confused look, Lucy held the brush out to him. "Trade you the story for some help with my hair?"

"Tell me if I pull too hard?" he said, sitting down on the bathroom floor and motioning for her to sit in front of him. "So what's the significance of your tattoo?"

She took a breath as he ran the brush experimentally through her hair. "Aquarius had an identical tattoo. During the Tartarus battle…after her key was broken, I was given her powers. At first I thought it was a temporary thing, but when it showed up afterwards, I realized it was permanent. I'm not as good as Juvia, but it's kept me alive for a year and a half."

Laxus raised an eyebrow at the back of her head. "So because it's magic, it doesn't get damaged by the scars?"

"I guess so," she replied, and he could hear her wince as he hit a tangle. "Despite not having a clear inch of skin left, the tattoo remains unbroken."

"So, which are you trying to hide?" he asked gently, trying to undo the tangle.

"Excuse me?" she said, hissing sharply as the brush hit another tangle.

"Scars or tattoo. Which one is the new wardrobe designed to hide?"

"Either," she muttered. "At first it was the tattoo, and then it was the scars."

"You know," Laxus said, undoing the most recent tangle. "Some people would take pride in those scars."

"Some of us wanted to keep their involvement in certain issues quiet," Lucy said stiffly. "I didn't want the guild to know about it because I didn't want them to treat me any differently."

"So instead you didn't tell anyone and if you had not come back from a mission, nobody would have looked for you until it was too late. Is that what you wanted?" Laxus snapped. "Do you think anyone would have been happy with that?"

"At least I wouldn't have had people looking at me with pity in their eyes and acting like I'm some hero. I'm not you, or Natsu, or Grey…I'm not a hero."

"Is that why you've been snapping at every member of Fairy Tail that comes into the room?" Laxus asked, tugging the brush through another tangle. "And throwing things?"

"They treat me like I'm a child, and they always look at me with the same damn look. I _hate_ it." Lucy hissed, and he saw her hands clench into fists. "I don't want their pity, and I don't want to be treated like a hero. If I had wanted that, I would have told people what was going on. But ever since that day, you all have been making my choices for me, giving no heed to what I want."

"And what do you want?" Laxus asked carefully, knowing he was treading on unstable ground.

"I'm not a hero, so don't treat me like one! And let me make my own damn choices. I'm not a child. None of us are. Not after Tartarus. Only Asuka is that lucky." Lucy's voice wavered, but he kept brushing her hair.

"Is there somewhere else you want to go?" he asked softly. "You could leave Fairy Tail, go to visit Yukino, or somewhere else…?"

"Fairy Tail is my home," she said softly. "However much I don't want to see most of its members, if I leave now, the mayor wins in the end. And I don't want to leave so much as if I want to be left alone."

"Do you want another place to stay? We didn't ask were you wanted to go…"

Lucy shrugged. "I get why you guys chose here. And it actually isn't all that bad. You've got a nice house. I'm still angry at you, but at least you're not constantly around. Moments like this are helping to make up for it though."

"Is there anything in particular you want to get off your chest?" Laxus asked. Since it was only his first time brushing someone's hair, he wasn't sure how exactly it was supposed to go, but he had made it through half of her head.

"You failed me twice," she said absently, straightening her shorts. "But that's all I want to say right now. Today was a better day than I've had recently, and for once I don't feel like getting angry."

Her blunt acknowledgement that it was one of her better days surprised him, but he let it pass without comment. Moving past it, he said: "Is there anything I can do to make things easier right now?"

"Do I need to have babysitters from the guild?" she asked softly. "I don't really want to see any of them. Can't it just be the two of us like it was for most of the day today?"

Laxus sighed. "After talking with you tonight, I _get_ why you don't want to see any of them. But I'm a guild master and I can't stay cooped up here in the house all the time, as relaxing as it sounds."

"Then leave me here by myself," she suggested. "I can…"

"Lucy, I'm brushing your hair right now because you overexerted your fine motor skills while manipulating _silverware_. Add that to the fact that I helped you wash your hair, I've noticed that you choose clothing without zippers, buttons, laces, or hooks…right now, at this stage in your recovery, you aren't able to do all of the things you want to. What if your legs gave out? Or you dropped something you needed and couldn't pick it up? It's not about babysitting you, it's about making sure that you can function as normally as possible."

"How about any members of Crime Sorciere who end up joining?" Lucy suggested. "They don't know what happened, and you could make it part of their first mission. It might help Erza get more settled if you can keep Jellal in one place for a while."

"He might complain about that," Laxus muttered, remembering some of the pained expressions he had seen on the other man's face when the conversation had turned towards the redhead. "For whatever reason, he's still keen on avoiding her as much as possible."

"She thinks he's still guilty over their past," Lucy contributed. When he stopped brushing her hair, she turned to look at him.

"What? I didn't know they had a past. Forgive me for needing a moment to process that bit of information." Laxus resumed brushing. "Well, even if he is trying to avoid her, he'll at least be willing to stay with you when I need to go to the guild, since I'm going to honor your request to make this house off limits to Team Natsu members."

"Thank you," she said quietly, turning back around. "I appreciate it. And I appreciate you not pushing for details about Aquarius either, when I mentioned her earlier."

Raising his eyebrows, Laxus continued brushing. He hadn't thought to ask about why she had Aquarius's powers earlier, but before he could follow that train of thought, Lucy continued speaking.

"I promise, I'll explain another time, but I don't want to explain now." Lucy yawned. "How goes the hair brushing?"

With one last stroke, Laxus set the brush on the floor. "All done. Ready for bed?"

"Yeah," she said, allowing him to pull her upright. "Bet you never thought you'd be doing this as master."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "No, I don't suppose I saw this particular incident being part of my experience as Fairy Tail's guild master. However, I don't know if I actually expect half of what they throw at me. If you haven't figured out by now, we're pretty unorthodox."

They had reached her bed by then, and she sunk gratefully down onto it. "Well, I think I can handle the rest of this from here," Lucy said tiredly. "Thanks for everything."

"Just ask," he said, moving towards the door. "You done with the light?"

"Yeah."

"Goodnight Lucy."

"Goodnight Laxus."

*****So, those two are still getting along, which is a nice change. This was a lot lighter of a chapter compared to most of the others, so it was fun to write.*****


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen:**

When Lucy woke up, she ached all over. Lying in bed, she remembered that she had walked unaided and manipulated silverware, and felt a fleeting moment of pride, before she remembered that most people above the age of five can do that without a second thought. Carefully pulling herself upright, she hobbled over to her dresser, propping herself up against it as she fished out a long sleeved tee shirt, sweatpants, and socks. Returning to her bed to dress, she contemplated the effort it would take to make it to the living room unaided.

Usually she waited until Laxus appeared with her breakfast, but since he had actually started acting like a normal person, she wanted to make a similar effort. Lucy knew that the way she had been acting since she woke up four weeks ago was childish and cruel, but at first she had been scared and angry, and it had settled into resentment and irritation as her guild mates continued to treat her like an object of pity and a hero.

Leaning against the wall for support, Lucy shuffled to the door and managed to wrap her fingers around the knob and open in without too much delay. She grimaced at the amount of effort it took. Wendy had told her that several of the slashes she had received had severed nerves in both her arms and legs that she was able to repair, but it would take time before they were functioning at their normal level. Until then, she was stuck with physical therapy and struggling to do normal tasks. She hated having to be helped like a small child, which led to even more resistance against the Fairy Tail members who jumped to do things for her.

As she stood in the hallway, resting for a moment, the door across the hall from her opened, and she came face to face with a surprised Laxus.

"Are you hungry?" he asked quickly, turning to go down the hallway. "I'm sorry, I overslept a bit this morning. Need a hand back inside?"

"A bit, but I was planning on trying to make it to the kitchen this morning. Would you mind giving me a hand, so I have some energy left for the physical therapy I've promised to do?" Lucy grimaced as she asked for help, but she was sick of ending up sprawled out on the floor when her legs gave up on her out of exhaustion.

"Of course. Any requests for breakfast?" Laxus offered his arm, and they walked slowly down the hallway, Lucy leaning on him more than she would have liked.

"Something that only requires one utensil, and nothing that needs to be cut." What she really missed were Mira's strawberry milkshakes, but if it wasn't Mira's recipe, it just wasn't the same.

"Any particular flavors you want?" Laxus asked as they reached the entry to the kitchen and he helped her slide into one of the stools at the island.

"Strawberry, I guess," she said, and he nodded. She looked around the kitchen while he cooked, taking in more of the layout than she had been able to the day before. Whoever had built it designed it to be functional and classy, as demonstrated by the better quality finishes and simple layout. It felt comfortable, and Lucy found herself relaxing.

"Here you go," Laxus said, placing two dishes in front of her. "It's just yogurt, and cut up fruit, but I hope it's something you like. Do you want something to drink?"

"Orange juice, if you have any. Thanks for the food." Lucy carefully picked up the spoon resting in the yogurt and started the process of eating while Laxus got her a glass of juice and started cooking again.

By the time he sat down in front of her with a plate full of pancakes and bacon, she had finished the yogurt and moved on to the fruit. Lucy was surprised that she had managed to keep her hand steady, but her streak ended as a piece of apple landed in her lap. Scowling, she reached down to pick up the offending piece.

"Wendy said that doing a few of her exercises should help with that," Laxus said casually from across the table. "When do you want to start?"

"Immediately," Lucy said, dropping the apple in her empty bowl of yogurt. "I'm sick of always dropping things."

"Once I've cleaned up from breakfast, I'll get you started. Mira's coming over to help me get any members of Crime Sorciere registered as guild members, and I'll have to go introduce Jellal as Mystogun to the guild afterwards. I was going to have Mira stay with you, but if someone from Crime Sorciere doesn't mind, you can stay with them."

"Could you bring Cancer and Virgo back with you when you're at the guild?" Lucy asked softly. "And maybe Scorpio, Aries, and Gemini? Angel was wondering how they were doing. You can be present when I summon them, and you can even sit next to me, but she really wanted to know how they've been doing and say hello."

"We'll see how your magic levels are, but I'll bring them to you. I'll keep them when you're done summoning though. You won't be allowed near Loke for a while though, so don't try asking for him," Laxus finished his breakfast and collected their dishes. "Do you want to move into the living room, or do you want to wait until I'm done here?"

"I'll wait, if that's okay. It's not every day you get to see Laxus Dreyar washing dishes," she teased, surprising herself. Since when had she relaxed enough to tease someone? Lucy couldn't remember the last time she joked casually with anyone else. Maybe before Tartarus? It all seemed so long ago.

Laxus flicked dishwater in her general direction. "You've gotten cheeky," he said, chuckling. "If I could, I'd make you do dishes. But I'm too nice for that."

"You just don't want me to break more things," she said. "I've noticed that you've stopped using plastic recently."

She saw him look down at the dishes he was washing in shock, and then back at her, eyes narrowed. "I'm trusting you right now. If you break one of these, there will be hell to pay."

"Yes sir!' she said, dragging her hand up in a rough salute. "No throwing dishes unless absolutely necessary."

"On second thought," he muttered. "I'm switching back to plastic."

"What, I promised I wouldn't throw unless absolutely necessary." Lucy pouted in her seat as he finished washing the dishes.

"It's your definition of _absolutely necessary_ that I don't trust."

"Come now, I'm not Natsu," she whined, but she couldn't keep the grin off her face.

He noticed. "Sometimes, I wonder if we need him back. You know, we switched to plastic at the guild because of your teammates' tendency to brawl? But since I've been master, you're the biggest reason we need to stay with plastic."

Lucy couldn't help herself, and she chuckled. "Now that you're treating me like a human being, I won't have to throw as many things. So no worries on my account. However, just remember that you're trying to bring back Team Natsu, and budget accordingly. The welcome brawl will probably decimate the main floor."

Grimacing, Laxus dried his hands and turned to face her, offering his arm again. "Thanks for reminding me. I'll have a word with Freed when I go to the guild."

As soon as she was settled on the couch, he began walking her through the first set of exercises that Wendy had left for her. Lucy bit her lip as she worked on moving all of her fingers, clenching her fist, and wrapping her hand around the soft foam ball that Wendy had given Laxus to help with Lucy's recovery. Laxus walked her through all of the exercises, watching her form and correcting her as necessary. They managed to get through all of the hand exercises before a knock on the door interrupted them.

"Good job Lucy," Laxus said as he rose. "Let me get the door, and then I'll get you a glass of water."

Sinking back onto the couch, Lucy felt her hands shaking worse than ever. She knew in the scheme of things, she hadn't really done anything all that strenuous, but she felt exhausted. Lucy wanted to just go back to her bed and take a nap.

The members of Crime Sorciere filed into the living room, muttering their hellos. Angel and Meredy joined Lucy on the couch, and she tucked her legs under her to make more space for them, trying not to show how much she ached.

Laxus returned to the room with a pitcher of water and a stack of cups. Pouring glasses for Lucy and himself, he told the Crime Sorciere members to help themselves and sat down in the only unoccupied armchair available.

"Well, I hope you've been able to discuss my offer and think carefully about it," he began, leaning forward in his chair. "I won't interrupt your usual activities unless I need to, so that shouldn't be a concern. Jellal will still be your leader, and I'll consult with him on any matters regarding your team. Does anyone have any questions for me?"

Racer spoke first: "If we say yes, what difference will there actually be?"

Voice serious, Laxus said: "The main difference is that Fairy Tail will be your nakama. Above all else, we protect our nakama. Sometimes that means having to set aside your own wants for their needs. I may call you back to help defend the guild, or to go on a rescue mission for a member in the same area you are. Depending on what requests come in, I may ask you to handle certain tasks, but Jellal will have a say in everything. Because of the fact that you may spend long amounts of time away from the guild, I'll issue each of you communications lacrima so that you can contact us and we can reach you. Does that answer your question?"

The other mage nodded, and there were no further questions. Laxus waited a few more minutes, and then said: "Who is interested in becoming a member of Fairy Tail?"

Everyone in the room either nodded or raised their hand. Laxus looked a bit incredulous for a moment, but the surprise was soon replaced with his usual lazy grin. "Well then, you all just added to my stack of paperwork. Let me go get the forms, and some pens. You can all start on them while we wait for Mira to come with the guild stamp."

As promised, he returned with the forms, and Lucy watched the former Crime Sorciere members begin to fill them out as she sipped at her water, trying to stabilize her shaking hands. Meredy was first to speak. "When it asks for a contact outside of your team, who should we put?"

"You can put anyone not a member of your team. That contact is usually someone's next of kin, so if you're injured or killed we know who to speak to. If you don't have someone, feel free to put my name down. Many members' only family members are on their teams, so the number of people who have me listed as their contact is more than half the guild."

Meredy nodded, and the room lapsed into silence again. When Mira arrived, she found them all sitting quietly in the living room, a stack of completed forms in front of Laxus. The bubbly barmaid giggled as she entered the room, waving to everyone. "Hi guys! I brought a friend to help me. Say hi to Kinana everyone, she works at the bar full time. You don't want to upset her!"

Lucy saw Cobra's eyes go wide as his nostrils flared and his muscles tensed. Slowly turning his head, he stared at the purple haired girl half-hiding behind Mira. When Lucy realized that Kinana's eyes were fixed on _her_ and that when she saw Lucy, she shrunk even further behind Mira, she grimaced. Apparently she had a lot of things to apologize for.

"_Who are you?_" Cobra breathed, and the girl froze, her eyes leaving Lucy for the first time since she had entered the room. Shaken, he stood and moved toward the frozen girl. "Why do you smell like Cubellios?"

Shaking her head frantically, Kinana pulled Mira in front of her. The white haired mage's happy atmosphere was replaced by a pout. She and Laxus shared a glance, and Laxus looked mildly irritated.

"Really Mira?" he muttered, running his hand through his hair. "You had to do this _now_?"

"Laxus, it's better here than at the guild," the barmaid said, but Lucy caught a glimpse of hearts in her eyes. "They need to know."

"What do you know?" Cobra snapped, his eyes never leaving the little bit of purple hair that could be seen behind Mira. "Can somebody please just explain?" His voice broke, and Lucy realized that she had never seen the poison dragon slayer so vulnerable before.

"I _know_ your voice…" Kinana's voice whispered, and she peaked out from behind Mira to look at Cobra. "You wanted to know my…"

"_Thoughts_," Cobra whispered back, looking as if he had seen a ghost. "Nobody could ever tell me what happened to you after…"

"I've been at Fairy Tail…" Kinana said helplessly, hiding behind Mira again. "Mira-nee, please…I don't understand…"

"It's okay Kinana," Mira soothed gently, smoothing the girl's hair. "I'll explain." Turning to Cobra, she said: "After the attempt to recover Nirvana failed, Kinana was found as you see her now. From what we were able to tell, she had been transformed into a snake at a young age. Given the accounts from those who were part of the force sent to respond to the Nirvana incident, Fairy Tail's previous masters assumed that she was your partner, but for her sake, we didn't tell her. They told me, so I could connect with her and help her start to live a normal life. I brought her here today because I wasn't sure if you would be able to recognize her, and I didn't want the entire guild to be startled if you two bumped into each other."

"Cubellios," Cobra said, but corrected himself. "Kinana…"

"Okay, now that you two understand that you knew each other before, I'm laying down ground rules." Lucy could feel Demon Mira's aura seeping out, and everyone else paled slightly as they felt it. "You are not to bother her unless she _wants_ to see you. If I hear that you're harassing her, you deal with me. And don't you push for details about her past. We don't know what exactly is causing her memory loss, but if you prod you could do more damage. Whatever she ends up remembering, that's up to her brain, not you. Are we clear?"

Wordlessly, Cobra nodded. Looking at Kinana again, he murmured: "Would it be okay if I stopped by the guild sometimes to say hello?"

Kinana peered out from behind Mira and nodded nervously. Still looking as if the floor had just dropped out from under him, Cobra dropped back into his chair, his mind clearly miles away.

After he had been still for a moment, Kinana detached herself from Mira and hurried over to Lucy, who was still striving to keep her hands from shaking. Seizing the glass from Lucy's hands, the girl dumped it over Lucy's head and scurried away to hide behind Mira. Surprised, Lucy sat still until a growl from Laxus made everyone jump.

"You could have waited until she wasn't sitting on my couch."

Kinana squeaked, but Lucy shrugged. She deserved it. The last time she had seen her, Lucy had said some pretty cruel things to the girl. Plus, she probably had been on the receiving end of one of Lucy's attempts to throw things at whomever was watching her at the moment. Swinging her legs over the side of the couch, she pushed herself into a standing position and headed down the hall towards her room. Before she could leave the room, she turned to Mira, who Kinana was still using as a shield, and said: "I'm sorry Kinana. What I said to you in the past was not only wrong, but rude and cruel. I was in a bad place and took it out on you, which was unfair. I deserved that and much more."

Hobbling down the hallway to her room, Lucy sized up the doorknob. Her fingers ached even more at the thought of manipulating it to get into her room. As she leaned against the doorframe, Lucy tried to wrap her fingers around the knob, but the movements sent flashes of pain through her entire arm.

A large shadow appeared behind her, and Laxus's hand reached for the knob and opened her door silently. While she limped through the now open door, he disappeared back down the hallway, not even saying a word.

Tiredly, Lucy reached for a fresh shirt and pair of leggings. Laying them, and a skirt, on her bed, she began the laborious process of changing into fresh clothing, wincing as little jolts of pain erupted in her arms with each move.

Eventually, she managed to get rid of all of her wet clothing, but she was exhausted and just wanted a nap. Gritting her teeth, she stood up and made her way back to the living room. Everyone was still gathered there, and she spotted freshly applied Fairy Tail marks on several bared limbs.

Laxus looked up as she settled back on the couch. "Ah, you're back. I was just about to make lunch. Why don't you all hang out here while I cook and then after lunch you can spend time with either Mira or Kinana while I take the others to the guild? It's a bit hasty, but I'd rather not have everyone killing each other the first time someone wanders into the guild."

"I'll give you a hand," Mira offered, giving Kinana a little push. "Why don't you go sit with Lucy and she can introduce you to the others? I promise, they won't bite!"

Timidly, the girl moved to sit on the floor by the couch. She avoided Lucy's eyes, but Lucy had figured her apology, however heartfelt, wouldn't fix the situation immediately.

Left in the living room with Kinana and the former Crime Sorciere members, Lucy felt the silence stifling her. Desperate to break the silence, Lucy said: "Well, Kinana, you've met Cobra. Over there, sitting on the other couch, are Racer and Hoteye. Behind you, with me, are Angel and Meredy. Asleep on the loveseat is Midnight. Leaning against the wall is Jellal, although you've seen him before." At Kinana's curious glance, Lucy explained. "He was a member of Fairy Tail B, but disguised himself as Mystogun."

Kinana gaped at the blue haired mage. "You almost beat Jura!" she whispered, causing Jellal to blush slightly.

"He would have if Ur hadn't interfered," Meredy snickered, and Jellal's blush turned into a glare.

"She wasn't the only one who interfered," he muttered darkly. "You were an active participant."

"If you can call having hot peppers shoved down your throat to keep you alive being an active participant." Meredy grumbled, wincing at the memory. "Remember, Lahar and Doranbolt were there that day, and you were about to use your signature magic. We saved your skinny bum."

Racer chuckled. "I think I remember seeing something about that in a magazine article about the Games. Something about how Mystogun, one of Fairy Tail's strongest mages, randomly collapsed in the middle of his fight."

All of Crime Sorciere was snickering, other than Jellal, and even Kinana and Lucy were giggling softly.

"Any member of Crime Sorciere who just laughed has to continue wearing the cloak for another six months," Jellal said darkly, and Angel glared at him.

"That was mean," she snapped, pulling at the cloak. "You know I don't like this."

Meredy glared at her. "Shut it, they're not that bad. Midnight likes his."

"That's because Midnight uses his as either a pillow or a blanket, depending on where he is," Cobra pointed out, coming back to the conversation, although he couldn't help but glance at Kinana every so often, Lucy noticed. "He doesn't actually _like_ the cloaks."

Grabbing a pillow, Meredy threw it at Cobra, who caught it easily. "I thought you didn't mind the cloaks."

He threw it back at her. "Maybe I do? Maybe I don't."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh as she watched a group of former criminals fall into a pillow fight. Even Midnight was woken up and joined in. Sliding off the couch, the celestial mage sat next to Kinana before she could get caught in the fray.

"Looks like they'll fit right in," she whispered to Kinana, who giggled behind her hand.

"I heard that, blondie!" Cobra called over the chaos, and Lucy squeaked and lay flat as several pillows came hurtling at her from all directions.

Before they could hit her though, she felt a crackling of lightning, and found herself safely in the kitchen doorway, leaning against Laxus, Kinana on his other side. The pillow fight screeched to a halt as the seven mages left in the living room took in the sight of their new guild master.

"Did everyone forget my ground rules from yesterday?" Laxus complained. "Don't break my house or anything in it. Also, Lucy's recovering from injuries, so involving her in a brawl is not necessarily the best idea at the moment."

Jellal set down the pillow he was holding. "I'm sorry," he said, blushing again. "I believe that we were all…swept away. We've had very little time to relax in the past, so we tend to go a bit overboard when we get the opportunity. In the future, we'll be more cautious."

Shamefaced, the remaining combatants nodded, setting their pillows down. Lucy was surprised to see how many pillows they had found, but realized that when there were one or two on each end of the couches and loveseat, plus one in each of the armchairs, the total was substantial.

"Lucy was right, you'll all fit right in," Mira said, emerging from the kitchen with a tray of soup bowls. "Just wait until Natsu gets back, and between the seven of you and him, the guild won't be standing."

"Don't even think it Mira," Laxus growled warningly. "That guild building cost us quite a bit, so it's going to stay in one piece. Anyone who breaks it will find themselves wishing they had Zeref as a guild master."

His hand squeezed Lucy's shoulder slightly as he spoke, and she looked up into his face to see that he meant it. Touched, she smiled up at him, and let him help her back to her seat on the couch.

Mira was passing out soup and spoons to everyone, but Laxus slipped a straw into Lucy's bowl. When she opened her mouth to ask him a question, he smiled again, and she began drinking her soup.

Once everyone was done eating, and Laxus and Mira had washed the dishes, Laxus headed for the front door. "Okay everyone, we'll head to the guild in a minute. But before you go, I'm going to give out my first mission to Crime Sorciere. Sorry Jellal for not consulting you, but I think this is one you won't mind."

The blue haired mage raised his eyebrow, but let Laxus continue.

"You'll need time to find places to live, or build your own place, so this one takes place right here in Magnolia. As I mentioned earlier, Lucy's recovering from injuries and isn't quite ready to return to the guild. She's making good progress, but she still needs a hand from time to time. That's where you guys come in. I can't always be here, and everyone at the guild is pretty busy with their own things, so I'm hoping I'll be able to count on you guys to come here and just make sure that she's got everything she needs."

Pausing to look sternly at Lucy, he turned back to the assembled mages. "She promises to behave herself and let you know what she needs, but I do have to add the disclaimer that she likes to rely on people as much as a dragon slayer likes transportation. In exchange, you guys are welcome to come for meals any time, or even just to come hang out if that's what you need. Just…reasonable hours, okay?"

As everyone nodded, Laxus turned to Mira and Kinana. "Can one or both of you stay with Lucy while I go with these guys to the guild?"

Kinana looked warily at Lucy, but she volunteered. "Mira-nee, you might be needed to keep the others under control, so I'll stay with Lucy."

Mira studied the blonde for a moment, and Lucy held her breath under the Demon's piercing gaze. When it passed, Mira's smile replaced the glare. "If that's what you want Kinana. However, if you need anything, just call the guild, and Wendy and I will be along as quick as can be. Do you understand Lucy?"

Lucy shrunk under Mira's gaze. Apparently she hadn't been forgiven quite yet. "I promise, I'll behave. And Mira, I'm sorry about before…it wasn't fair to any of you. Tell the others, please?"

"You'll have to do that yourself Lucy," Mira said sternly. "But I'm glad to hear that you're doing better. We've all been worried for you."

Waving goodbye, Lucy let herself collapse back on the couch as soon as the door closed. Her entire body ached, and she just wanted to sleep...

When she woke up, Laxus was shaking her gently. "Time for dinner Lucy," he murmured, setting a plate down on the nearby coffee table. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," she muttered, pushing herself upright. "But it will pass eventually."

"Well, since things went well today, I was able to bring back the keys you asked for. If you want, and have the energy for it, you can call out either Cancer or Virgo tonight. I'd let you summon both, but you look worn out and I don't want to push things too much now. But first, dinner."

Grabbing the sandwich from the plate, Lucy ate hungrily. Her appetite, which she had found nonexistent after she woke up alive, was starting to return. "How did the introductions go?"

Laxus chuckled. "Jellal was definitely blushing as Erza showed up and dragged him to a table so they could _catch up_. Angel and Meredy looked a bit nervous, but Levy and Lisanna got along with them pretty well after rescuing them from Cana. Racer and Hoteye were hanging out with Macao and Wakaba last I saw, although they may have been dragged there. Midnight was sleeping in a corner behind the bar where Mira promised he wouldn't be disturbed…oh, and Gajeel kidnapped Cobra as soon as he could. I think he's been missing having Natsu about to talk about dragon slayer stuff, even though they can't stand each other."

Snickering, Lucy reached carefully for the glass of juice he had set in front of her. "Where are they staying in the meantime?"

"Jellal's set up camp not too far away. I can't really hear them when they're at the camp, but if they're between the camp and here, I can usually tell. It will be interesting to see when they all start wandering back."

"They're getting the full Fairy Tail welcome?" Lucy asked with a giggle.

"If Mira and Freed hadn't sworn to supervise whatever goes on tonight, I would have forbidden it. However, Freed's put some barriers up to keep the walls from getting destroyed from stray hits, and Mira says she's got crowd control down. Besides, I figured Kinana would want to head back to the guild, so I came back to take her place. You two seemed to get along all right today."

Lucy shrugged. "I fell asleep not long after you left. The stuff we did with my hand today made me pretty tired."

"We'll take it a bit slower next time," he said, finishing his own stack of sandwiches. "Tomorrow we can work on your legs, and alternate from here on out until it gets easier. Daily use should be enough to keep whatever we're not working specifically that day limber."

"Did Wendy say how long it would be until things returned to normal?"

Laxus shook his head. "She said it would depend on how bad the damage was and how fast the rehabilitation went. Wendy also said that healing you was more difficult because you hadn't been in good health before you were injured. So I guess all you can do is keep trying and hope that things go smoothly."

With a sigh, Lucy set her glass of juice down. "Can I call Cancer now?"

Fishing in his pocket, Laxus pulled out a key. "Here you go. Mind if I stick around?"

"Would you even leave if I minded?" Lucy asked.

"Fair enough," Laxus shrugged. "If you start stripping though, I'm at least turning my back.

"Thank the stars for small favors," Lucy said dryly, taking the key. "Open, gate of the crab. Cancer!"

A flash of light, and then her spirit was there, scissors at the ready. When he saw her, he looked as if he was about to cry. "Oh thank goodness Miss Lucy, you're safe. We've been worried, especially when Leo couldn't open his gate to see you. How are you? Have you recovered fully?"

Lucy smiled, reaching out her hand to touch him. "I'm doing better now, and seeing you has helped a lot. Right now…I'm still recovering and my arms took quite a beating on that last job. Actually, everything took quite a beating, and I'm not functioning right now. I know you and I don't want to cut my hair short, but it's just too unmanageable as it is right now. Could you cut it short until I can care for it myself, and then we'll restore it?"

Her spirit nodded, brandishing his scissors. "Of course, Miss Lucy. I'll make sure your hair gets special treatment. Would you like me to wash it for you as well?"

"If you could, that would be lovely…although if we're doing that, I might as well just bathe." Looking at Laxus, she asked hopefully: "Do you have Virgo's key with you right now?"

Surprised, he said: "Yeah, why?"

Lucy felt her lips stretch into the biggest smile she could remember. "Can I just hold it? If she can feel me here, Virgo will probably come out to check on me, especially if Cancer can tell her I want her. When she comes on her own, she doesn't use my magic power. Having Virgo here means that I can take a proper bath, and then Cancer can help me with my hair afterwards, so you don't have to deal with me."

Warily, Laxus retrieved another key and passed it to her. "I stay outside the bathroom the entire time, and no funny tricks. If what you say about Virgo is true, I'll make sure to keep your keys away from you when I'm not around to supervise, so they need to come back to me at the end of the night."

"Fine. Cancer, could you let her know that I need her to come through on her own?" Lucy turned back to her spirit, heart thumping wildly. Almost as soon as he nodded, there was another flash of light and Virgo appeared.

"I am here, Princess. Punishment?"

Laughing, Lucy reached out to touch Virgo's hand. "Not today, unless helping me with a bath is your idea of punishment. Would you mind helping me with that? After that last mission, my body's still recovering, so I'm pretty limited in what I can do myself. Also, Levy and Ever managed to reassemble my old wardrobe, not my new one, so if you could help with that, I'd be really grateful."

"Of course, Princess." Virgo bowed, but the smile on her face couldn't be concealed. "Do you wish to bathe now?"

"Yeah, I don't know how much time I'll have with you tonight. It's been a long day for me." Lucy yawned, surprised to feel herself tiring already. "Would you mind helping me to the bathroom?"

"It would be my pleasure," Virgo said, helping Lucy rise from the couch. "And where do you think you're going?" she called to Laxus as he began to follow them down the hallway.

"She made a deal with me that if she was to be allowed to see you two, she had to consent to me staying nearby at all times. I'm not going to peep at her while she's taking a bath, but I'll be just outside." Laxus growled slightly, but managed to keep his voice even.

"He's fine Virgo, he actually helped with my hair last night." As they slipped into the bathroom, Lucy felt content for the first time in a long while. "Thank you so much for doing this, both of you."

"Anytime, Miss Lucy," Cancer said, catching the ends of her hair. "Your hair has been missing my attention. No worries. We'll cut it off for now, and when you're ready to take care of it again, it will be restored to all its former glory."

"Come Princess, the bath is ready."

Lucy sunk gratefully into the warm water with a sigh. "I wish I could call everyone out, but Laxus is keeping me on a pretty tight leash. So I'm counting on you to tell everyone that I'm doing okay, all right?"

Virgo chuckled. "Big Brother was about ready to tear his gate open when he heard you calling for Cancer. He's been just about inconsolable for the past month. Even Aries can't get him to settle down."

"It must be bad then," Lucy chuckled, knowing what Loke could be like. "I'm not sure if this would make things worse or not, but he's probably the last of you that I'll summon. Laxus hasn't quite forgiven him for honoring our agreement on _that_ day."

"If you're staying with the lightning dragon slayer, it may be best if Big Brother is not summoned," Virgo said dryly as she helped Lucy scrub her back, gentle against the scars. "Big Brother hasn't started to forgive him for what you suffered."

"Loke needs to chill," Lucy said firmly. "I'm the only one with the right to be angry, and right now I'm at the point where I'm not constantly mad, but I still haven't forgiven him completely yet. He doesn't have the right to decide who gets forgiven and when."

"We all are quite grateful to Laxus-san for his intervention," Cancer added from where he was examining Lucy's hair care products. "Well, with the obvious exception. Oh, and Aquarius wanted to remind you that even if you can't summon, you still have your water powers to practice with."

Wiggling her fingers stiffly, Lucy grimaced. "Not if I don't have fine motor control. Laxus just about killed people for starting a pillow fight in the living room. Imagine what would happen if I tried to practice my water magic and burst a pipe?"

Smiling, Virgo helped Lucy sink back in the water. "There you go Princess, all clean. Now, I'm going to attend to your wardrobe while Cancer fixes your hair. I assume the dresser out there is yours?"

"Yeah, thanks so much Virgo. If Laxus gives you attitude, tell him that I need this and since we made a deal, he has to hold up his end of it."

Cancer took a hold of Lucy's hair as Virgo left the room. "Now, let's start by washing and conditioning, and then I'll cut it. You just relax and let me work my magic."

Closing her eyes, Lucy enjoyed the feeling of him washing her hair. "Thank you so much Cancer. I really appreciate this."

"Anything for our master," he said. "Even if we had passed to Yukino, we would never have a master better than you."

Lucy listened to him talk about the most recent gossip from the Spirit World as he worked, feeling herself grow drowsier as time went on. When she came back to her surroundings, Virgo was toweling her dry and helping her into pajama pants and a tee shirt.

"I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to doze off," Lucy apologized, catching sight of her hair in the mirror. "Cancer, this looks really great. Thank you so much."

"My pleasure," he said, bowing. "Now, to keep from draining you any further, I'll say goodbye for now."

"Bye," Lucy murmured, watching him return. "And thanks for helping me get dressed Virgo."

"I am happy to help, Princess. Your wardrobe is returned to your current choices, all easy to put on without much difficulty. Ah, and the lightning dragon slayer is waiting outside for you. I believe he wants to speak with you before you sleep."

Sighing, Lucy collected the two keys from where they rested on the counter. "Yeah, he won't let me hold the keys on my own. They're kept at the guild somewhere."

"We will wait patiently then," Virgo said stoically, straightening Lucy's clothes. "In the meantime, I will return. Is there anything else I can do, Princess?"

"No, thank you so much Virgo," Lucy said, giving her spirit a hug. "Tell the others I say hello?"

"Of course," the spirit said, disappearing. Alone again, Lucy fought back tears and limped out to see Laxus sitting at her desk.

"You haven't written much," he commented, looking at the novels in their folders. "Any particular reason?"

"Fine motor skills are lacking," she said, passing him the keys. "And to be perfectly honest, I don't know if either of them will ever be completed. The one…it was what I worked on before Tartarus. I can't go back to who I was then, and I don't know if I can pick up that story and have it be the same. For the second…well, I wrote that during the past year and a half…and it wasn't pretty. You've read it, so you have a good idea of what was going on in my life and head. It's more of a journal than an actual novel, and I don't think I'll be able to continue that now."

"You sound tired," he said, voice tinged with concern. "Why don't you go to bed, and we can talk more in the morning."

"Thanks for letting me use my keys," she murmured, shuffling to the bed and crawling under the covers. "You don't know how much it means to me."

"Thank _you_ for letting me trust you with them," he said, standing in the doorway. "Goodnight Lucy."

"Goodnight Laxus," she mumbled, feeling her eyelids falling.

*****So, my beta's taking a week off. Hopefully there aren't too many mistakes.**

**Just to clarify, ****_Still Standing_**** is written in the manga universe, so the Infinity Clock event didn't happen. This is Cobra and Kinana's first time meeting since they were Cubelious and Cobra. I ended up watching the arc (because Cobra), but by the time I saw it, this chapter was already in place. I'm also not very familiar with it, so I tend to stick closely to the manga over the anime.**

**Other than that...not too much to say here. We get to see Cancer and Virgo! And Lucy apologizes.*****


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen:**

Lucy stood in front of the sink, only leaning on the counter a bit, as she washed the breakfast dishes. The sun shone warmly through the kitchen windows, and her favorite song was playing on Laxus's sound system. But most of all, she was _alone_.

To be fair, Laxus had only stepped out to Jellal's camp that was soon going to be a small barracks for Crime Sorciere. He had wanted to check in with them, see how things were going, and Lucy had argued for doing a trial run of her ability to fend for herself. It had been almost a month since she started her physical therapy, and no longer felt overly fatigued at the end of the day, and her fine motor skills were getting better every day. As she washed a fork, she grinned smugly. Gone were the days of straws and one utensil meals!

Feeling bold, she stopped leaning on the counter and danced a little bit. Laxus had said he should only be gone for about fifteen minutes if he walked the entire distance, but she was going to savor every second. He had asked her to wash up the breakfast dishes while he was gone, but he didn't say she couldn't have _fun_ while she did it.

Scrubbing at the syrup on the plate in her hand, she belted out the lyrics to the song playing in the background. After two months of near-constant supervision, it was surprisingly liberating to have fifteen whole, glorious minutes to herself.

Caught up in the dish and the song, she didn't hear the front door open and close. Lucy remained unaware that she was no longer alone until she paused for breath and heard footsteps in the kitchen behind her.

"I thought you were going to take your time?" she called, somewhat disappointed. "Did you teleport there and back?"

A chuckle sounded, and before she could turn around, she found herself spun around and pinned to the counter, the edge digging uncomfortably into her spine. Her assailant was unfamiliar, but she wasted only a minute before she drove her knee into his groin. Squirming out of his grasp as he stumbled back, Lucy frantically searched the sink for the knife she remembered Laxus using to cut up fruit for her breakfast. But her hand closed only on the plates as the intruder's hand gripped her arm cruelly. Swinging the plate out, she smashed it in his face, but he simply shook his head and began to drag her away from the sink.

Swallowing down the scream that threatened to rip free, Lucy took a deep breath and summoned the water that was in the sink, but when her attacker smashed his hand across her face, she lost control of it. Aquarius's magic had always demanded more than her usual level of concentration, and since her last job, she had struggled to control it. As she reeled backwards, her outstretched hand landed in the sink, and she seized upon the knife in a stroke of luck.

As Lucy brought the knife in front of her, the man chuckled again and grabbed her wrist and squeezed until she had to let go of the blade. Forcing her downwards, he pressed her against the counter, pinning her legs with his own. Drawing in a breath, Lucy prepared to scream, hoping that Laxus would be close enough to hear her, or one of the others would be coming to the house.

Before she could make a sound, her assailant dropped her arms, using his shoulder to pin her to the cabinets and placed his hand over her mouth. Spluttering, Lucy bit down savagely, finding the taste of his blood in her mouth as she broke the skin oddly satisfying. With a curse, he withdrew, and she spat in his face.

Swearing again, he smacked her in the face again, driving her head back into the cabinets, stunning her. Lucy tried to squirm as he withdrew slightly, but her body wouldn't respond. She watched helplessly as he picked up the knife that had fallen on the floor and seized her wrists with his free hand.

"The mayor sends his regards," the man whispered, placing his face close to her ears as he slashed cruelly across her wrists. Still too dazed to respond, Lucy could only watch as he left, chuckling as he went. Struggling, she tried to reach the doorway, hoping to get to Laxus's office where she knew a communications lacrima was, but her legs wouldn't work. She sprawled in the middle of the kitchen floor, her thoughts a mixed up jumble.

_Laxus!_

* * *

"LAXUS!" a voice screamed, and Laxus was up and out of the chair he had been sitting in while talking with Jellal. After four weeks of getting to know the Crime Sorciere members, he knew that anything that made Meredy reach that particular pitch was bad. Feeling his lightning crackle around his skin, he looked around for the girl.

She was sprinting out of the forest boundaries, hair streaming behind her. "Laxus!" she called again, and he teleported to her, seizing her by the shoulders. Jellal was half a beat behind him.

"What's wrong Meredy?" Jellal said, mouth set grimly. "What happened? You and Cobra were going to Magnolia, right?"

"We got close to your house and Cobra…" Meredy was gasping for air, her chest heaving. "He said he smelled blood and took off towards your house, telling me to come back and tell you."

Before she could say another word, Laxus was gone in a flash of lightning. His mind raced as he imagined what could have caused the poison dragon slayer to smell blood…_I only left her for a little bit, she was doing so well…was she just acting? Did she fool me so she could…?_

_ Lucy!_

Arriving at his house, he bulled through the doors, the smell of blood hitting him like a punch. It wasn't as bad as the day he had almost lost her, but it was getting stronger. Following the scent to the kitchen, he found Cobra there, kneeling next to a blonde figure on the ground.

"She's bleeding from her wrists," Cobra growled. "You need to get the kid out here, she's going to need more than just a bandage."

"I'll call the guild." _Please let Wendy be there. Don't let it be like last time…please, Lucy hang in there._

Bix picked up the call. "Laxus, hey, how are things?"

"I need Wendy out here. Send her with Jet, and tell him that if she doesn't get here in time, we're going to lose Lucy."

"Have him send a team too," Cobra called from the kitchen. "There's a fresh scent in here that I haven't smelled before. And it's a mess in here."

When Bix returned, Laxus said: "Have the rest of Shadow Gear and Gajeel follow as soon as possible." Without a word, the seith mage left his view again, and Laxus carried the lacrima into the kitchen. Now that he knew Wendy was on her way, he relaxed enough to realize that Cobra was right, something was off about the kitchen. Lucy hadn't been on her own in here, although he couldn't pinpoint the extra scent.

"Laxus, what happened?" Bix was back, and Laxus returned his attention to the lacrima.

"I don't know…I left to see Jellal, and Cobra found her, wrists bleeding on the floor."

"Who was with her?" Bix asked.

"Nobody," Laxus growled, wishing he had insisted that someone come stay with her, or that she come with him to visit Jellal. "We were experimenting."

"Do you think she…?"

"I don't _know_," Laxus snapped. "It looks like a mess in here, and it smells off, but I can't figure out what the hell's happening until Wendy gets here and I know we're not going to lose her again."

Bix frowned. "Do you want another team out there?"

Shaking his head, Laxus said: "Keep everyone there. Get Freed to draw up barriers that will keep all members of the guild inside the hall. Bring everyone in, and don't let them leave. Until we've figured out what's going on, I want to know the whereabouts of every member of the guild and know that they're safe. Try not to raise alarm. Throw a party or something; open bar, the works. Don't worry about the money, just get everyone inside the damn building."

"You think she was attacked? By whom?"

"_I don't know, damn it!_" Laxus roared. "Just get everyone to the guild and lock the damn doors. Nobody in or out unless they're returning from a mission. I'll call Jellal's group to the house, and between them and Shadow Gear, we'll be fine."

"Okay, I'll get right on it. Call when you know something. One of us will be near the lacrima at all times." Laxus saw Bix reach for his helmet, something he only did now when he was afraid of losing control of his eyes. Shutting off the lacrima, Laxus turned to Cobra, who was applying pressure to Lucy's bleeding wrists.

"What do we do?" Laxus asked helplessly, seeing the bloody body of two months before instead of the bleeding wrists.

"Let's get her into the living room, the kid will need a place to work that isn't in the middle of the scene. If you sent her with the fast guy, she should be here soon."

Laxus hefted the blonde in his arms, still surprised at how little she weighed, and Cobra maintained pressure on her wrists. Laying her on the couch, they only had another minute before the door opened and Wendy burst into the room.

"Where is she?" the girl cried, and when she smelled the blood, she rushed to Lucy's side. Pushing aside Cobra's hands, she began working on one of Lucy's wrists immediately.

Running his hands through his hair, Laxus saw Jet collapsed on the porch steps. "Good job getting here fast," he muttered, watching the youngest slayer at work.

"Thanks," the man gasped, worn out from the quick mad dash. "I'll be fine in a minute."

"Wendy's here now, that should be the most we need for the moment." Turning to Cobra, Laxus asked: "Can you tell if your team's on their way?"

"They circled the house to see if they could find any traces of an intruder, but they're almost here. The rest of the team from the guild is a minute behind them."

"Good," Laxus grunted. "See if you can poke about the kitchen and pick up any clues as to what the hell happened here. If she was attacked, I'm going to send a team out to see if we can get whoever did it."

"With pleasure," the poison dragon slayer's grin was feral. "The blonde's been decent to me and everyone else, and she doesn't deserve this. Cutting her wrists is a painful, slow way to die compared to most assassinations. Whoever did this…there's a special place in hell for them."

Disappearing into the kitchen, Laxus was left with Wendy, who knelt beside the unconscious Lucy, focused on the blonde.

Noise on the steps alerted him to Jellal's arrival. Taking in Laxus's sparking form, the man said: "We came to see if there was anything we could do."

"Sure looks like an attack," Cobra called softly, and Laxus joined him in the kitchen with Jellal. Standing near the island, they watched as the poison dragon slayer pointed out the details of the scene.

"See the water on the counter? Smells like soap, but it's _everywhere_, like someone disturbed it. Some of it's even splattered on the floor. Bits of something ceramic all over too. And that looks like a bit of blood on that cabinet, and there on the floor. It doesn't smell like Lucy's so I'm going to guess that there's someone else who was bleeding here. Add that to _this_," Cobra indicated the bloody knife next to where Lucy had been found. "Her blood's all over the blade, but the handle smells like soap, a little of her, and a lot of someone else. Do you recognize it Laxus?"

"I used it this morning, when I made breakfast," Laxus murmured, taking in the knife. "And the ceramic…that's one of my plates. She must have been washing dishes when she was attacked. Lucy knows some water magic as well; if she tried to use it, that would explain the water everywhere."

"The scent leads back outside," Cobra said, moving out of the kitchen. "He's not in the house anymore."

"Jellal," Laxus growled, and the other man nodded. "Take Cobra and Gajeel, when he gets here. Droy…and whichever two of your band you think best suited for a search and capture mission. I want this bastard here alive so I can figure out what the hell happened. I'll keep the others here, in case this wasn't an isolated incident."

Raised voices outside signaled the arrival of the remaining members of Shadow Gear, and Laxus went outside to meet them.

"Gajeel and Droy, you're with Jellal. He'll explain as you go. Levy, see what you can do about mimicking one of Freed's rune barriers. Nobody without a Fairy Tail mark gets in this house. Anyone Jellal leaves behind is on guard duty. I want a perimeter around the house."

Cobra left the house, a cloth in his hand. "Our mystery man left blood on Lucy's face," he muttered as he passed Laxus. "I'm taking it so Gajeel and I can have a clear scent."

"Got it," Laxus watched as Jellal's group headed out, leaving him with Midnight, Hoteye, and Meredy to join with Levy and Jet. "Midnight, you've got the front door. Hoteye, the back of the house. Jet and Meredy, pick a side each. I'll be inside with Lucy and Wendy. Levy, your best efforts on those runes, if you could."

Returning to the house, Laxus looked at Wendy, who had moved to Lucy's other wrist. "How is she?"

"She'll need a transfusion," the small girl said, not looking up. "Anyone willing? I can deal with any blood type, but I need blood."

"Use mine," he said immediately. "If I'm coordinating, I don't need to be moving around all the time. Where do you want me?"

"Sit as close as you can. I'm going to finish repairing the damage here, and then I'm going to start the transfusion." Wendy's head tipped to the side, indicating an empty spot next to her. Taking the seat, Laxus watched Lucy's chest rise and fall with each breath, listened to her heartbeat…_hang in there Lucy_.

Wendy placed her hand on his arm and began the transfusion as soon as she finished with Lucy's wrists. The places that had been cut were red and shiny, but they didn't look like they'd scar.

"Okay, that's enough blood," Wendy pulled her hand away from Laxus's arm. "Levy, I know you're out front with Midnight. Can you come in and get Laxus some juice and something to eat? He just gave blood."

The bluenette went straight for the kitchen as Laxus leaned back against the couch. "Is she going to be all right?"

"I think so," Wendy said softly, studying the blond form on the couch. "She hit her head, but it doesn't seem that bad. No concussion. But I need you to tell me the truth Laxus. Did she do this to herself?"

He shook his head. "It looks like she was attacked. Jellal's out tracking the scent from the kitchen, which is where she was found."

"Good," the small girl said, taking the glass of juice that Levy handed her. "If she had…I would keep her out for a while longer until we had made some plans. But since you say she was attacked, we'll let her wake up naturally. Now drink up and eat. If she was attacked, there's a chance someone will come back to make sure that she's dead, and we'll need you at full strength."

Obeying, he drank the juice and ate the crackers and peanut butter that Levy had found for him. Moving to the nearby armchair, he brooded as he waited for the others to return.

*****Don't hate me, please? Now that Lucy is/was on the mend, I needed to resolve the issue with the mayor once and for all. Just a refresher/explanation: After Lucy's contract was broken, Laxus investigated, but at best they could only implicate the mayor in endangering Lucy's welfare because of the request for the last mission. Everything that happened previously depended on Lucy's testimony, and she was refusing to talk about what happened. So the mayor got off with just a warning, and the matter never went further than Fairy Tail.**

**In other news...my beta's getting pretty excited. She co-wrote chapter 21 with me, which is released next week! The next couple of chapters are going to be pretty fun, but that one's probably my second favorite out of this grouping. She also told me that since so many of you wanted to see what Lucy and Angel had talked about, she had drafted that, so you may see that in the future.**

**Not really too much else to say. I'm still working on the CoLu when I have time, and I may put another chapter of Ballad up. Not quite sure.*****


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty:**

Approaching scents warned him that Jellal and the others were returning, and they weren't alone. Getting up from the armchair, he joined Midnight on the front porch. Wendy moved to join him, but he waved her back to her seat next to the couch. "Stay with her. They're not going to come inside right away."

Turning to Levy, who had been making regular laps around the house to check on her makeshift rune barrier, he said: "Call Hoteye and the others; I want everyone on the porch. Jellal's bringing someone back. Will your barrier allow him to come near the house?"

"The barrier's only on the house itself," Levy replied, twirling her pen nervously in her fingers. "Someone could get up to the porch or the walls, but couldn't get inside. It's a lot like the one Freed put up around the guild."

"Good," Laxus grunted as she moved off. Crossing his arms, he closed the door and leaned against it, Midnight sitting nearby, half-asleep as usual. Hoteye, Jet, Meredy, and Levy joined him, spread out on and around the porch.

When Jellal's group returned, the tension ratcheted up. Laxus could feel his lightning crackling over his skin, and given the slight edging away of everyone around him, he was emitting sparks again.

As they drew closer, Laxus could see that Cobra and Gajeel looked murderous, but the man pinned between them seemed relatively unharmed. Even Angel's usual look of disdain was replaced by anger.

Jellal stopped a few feet from the bottom of the porch stairs. "Cobra and Gajeel say that his scent matches that of the blood found on Lucy's face. He also has a bite mark on his palm, and he refuses to say anything."

"Oh really?" Laxus growled, smelling the air. Gajeel and Cobra were right, he did match the smell that had been found in the house, and Laxus could smell Lucy's faint vanilla and strawberries on him as well. Growling again, Laxus said, voice thick with anger: "So what do you have to say for yourself?"

The man stayed silent, sneering at him from his place between Gajeel and Cobra. Glaring back, Laxus looked at the mages assembled around him. "Who's best at interrogations?"

Gajeel shrugged. "I can beat him to a pulp and see what he says. If the kid's here, she could heal him up so I could have another shot too."

"I've got a bunch of vines that could slowly choke him to death," Droy offered, he eyes frighteningly cold. "And I can drag it out so we can get enough information out of him."

Levy stopped twirling her pen and stood poised to write. "I could _squeeze_ the information out of him. Just imagine how interested in talking he would be when he's crushed under a few pounds of iron."

"Nightmares…" Midnight mused half-asleep. "Or having his clothes squeeze him to death."

"Nah," Cobra said with a vicious grin. "I've got a poison that's slow and _painful_. Or you could just zap it out of him."

Waving his hand, Laxus said: "Or we could just do the same thing to him that he did to Lucy. Since he's in better health, I'm sure he'll be able to tell us a few things before he passes out from blood loss. Anyone got a knife?"

"Who all wants one?" Gajeel shaped several instantly, distributing them to anyone who reached for one.

"Wait," the man said, seeing the seriousness in their eyes. "I'll talk."

"Oh will you?" Laxus said lazily. "I think you might need some more persuasion."

"I'm just doing what I was ordered to!" the man cried as Gajeel raised his knife. "Honest, I was just sent to make sure the girl was dead!"

"Who sent you?" Gajeel growled, shoving him into Cobra, who held him tightly. "And why?"

"She's been causing too much trouble! The mayor was afraid that she would bring attention to their contract and wanted her out of the way so if anyone did come sniffing around, she wouldn't be around and all of the evidence would be trumped up. Given Fairy Tail's reputation, he has a fair chance of getting out of this unscathed."

Growls erupted from the two dragon slayers, and Laxus could hear a faint growl from inside the house. Fighting to keep his lightning under control, he said: "Well then…that's interesting. However, I think that we'll just take care of this issue ourselves. No need to drag outsiders into it. Jellal, I'm placing this man in your custody. Try and keep him in one piece and mostly recognizable. Take him back to your camp and stay there until I let you know what the plan is. Gajeel and Shadow Gear, I need you to stay here with me and Lucy. If the mayor tried to kill her once, I'm going to want extra hands. Wendy and Levy can stay in Lucy's room, and the rest of you can stay in the living room or the guest room. I'll call the guild to let them know."

Nods were seen around the group, and Gajeel released his grip on the assassin, shoving him back into Cobra's chest again for good measure. Meredy, Hoteye, and Midnight drifted off the porch to join their friends, glaring daggers at the man Cobra held tightly. Gajeel and Droy joined the rest of Team Shadow Gear on the porch, watching as the others left with the man.

"He's lucky he isn't going back to Fairy Tail," Levy snapped, looking at the man's white face and shaking limbs. "Jellal will keep the others from ripping him apart. The scum's lucky that Crime Sorciere was around to save his skin. When do we get the bastards Laxus?"

"Three days," he said absently, watching the man leave. "We'll coordinate with the Raijinshu and those still at the guild and prepare a strike team. We need to get a confession recorded and perhaps other information before we strike. That way, if any retaliation occurs, we'll have had reason to attack in the first place."

"Do you think they'll come after her again?" Droy asked softly.

Laxus turned to enter the house. "I don't know," he said quietly. "I just don't know."

Wendy looked up as they entered. "She'll come to in a little bit. I heard we'll be staying?"

"I want you and Levy in Lucy's room with her at night," Laxus said, dropping into the armchair next to the couch. "If they come back, I want someone with her that can fight. Two of you guys can sleep in the guest room and the other can sleep on the couch once Lucy moves into her room."

"I'll sleep on the couch," Gajeel grunted, a dark look in his eyes. "If someone comes back, I want to make sure they're in multiple pieces by the time they get to her room."

"I need to update the guild," Laxus said tiredly, making no move to leave his seat. "They'll be wondering what's going on."

"Where's your lacrima?" Levy asked, being the only one still standing.

"On my desk in the study," Laxus said. "I'll get to it in a minute, you don't have to…"

"Don't worry," Levy said, heading towards the study. "I'm too jittery to sit right now anyway."

She returned in a minute with the lacrima, and Laxus called the guild. This time it was Freed who picked up the call.

"Laxus-sama, how is the situation at your house?" he asked quickly when he saw who was calling. "Is Lucy-sama okay?"

"She's out of danger," Laxus said, running his hand through his hair. "Wendy says she'll wake up soon."

"What happened to her?" Freed asked softly. "Bix didn't say."

"A guy snuck in and slashed her wrists, probably to make it look like a suicide when we found her," Laxus reported dully. "He didn't plan on her being alive when I got back, or the noses of dragon slayers in general. Jellal and his team are keeping custody of him for now."

"Who tried to kill her?" Freed spat, eye glowing behind his bangs. "Cana's drunk, but Mira's been serving Bix nonalcoholic drinks, so he's only pretending. Erza's pretty sober, and Ever and Mira are both sober. We can meet Shadow Gear and you in a matter of minutes and make a move."

"It seems to be the mayor," Laxus said coldly. "Apparently word has been leaking out about what he put Lucy through and he wanted to make her disappear, leaving us with no evidence that he can't claim isn't trumped up against him. We make no move for three days."

"Do you want me to lift the barriers?" Freed asked. "If the mayor was behind this, than only Lucy is in danger. There's no need for the entire guild to remain on lockdown."

"Keep them there," Laxus grunted. "I don't want to take any chances. Bring the rest of the Raijinshu, and Mira to the house tomorrow and we'll plan. Leave Erza and Cana, if she's sober, in charge of the guild. We'll need to tell them what has happened by then; they'll have figured out that something is wrong when they can't leave."

"Does your offer of an open bar still stand?" Freed asked.

"Until tomorrow at noon," Laxus growled. "Otherwise the drunk will have done away with all my savings."

Freed chuckled slightly, the first time Laxus could remember him laughing since Lucy had nearly died the first time. "She was particularly effusive with her praises of you about the time she started her second barrel."

Sighing, Laxus said: "Food's on me too. If I'm not letting anyone out, they can't be required to pay for food at the guild. Oh, and tell Bisca and Alzack that they can use my office tonight. I'm sure that the guild after we've been in party mode isn't a place you want your kid to be hanging out."

"They have been casting glances at the doors," Freed remarked. "The last time I was down there, Ever said she had never seen Bisca look that flustered after Cana made one too many remarks about the potential uses for Bix's tongue. Come to think about it, she might have been the reason Bix looked like he wanted to crawl under the table."

Laxus groaned. "Maybe you should tell Mira to stop serving her alcohol at some point in the afternoon. Start watering it down or something. If she's this bad already, she'll be in no state for anything later, and I want all of our top mages ready for anything."

"I'll see what I can do," Freed said carefully. "You do remember that she can tell the difference between alcohol with water and pure alcohol?"

"Just make sure she's fit to fight," Laxus said sternly. "And keep Erza sober too. She breaks things when she's drunk and someone does something stupid."

"Give her cake," Wendy piped up. "She'll choose cake over anything else all the time."

"Duly noted Wendy-san," Freed said. "Do you have any other orders Laxus-sama?"

"That's all for now," Laxus said tiredly. "I'll see you tomorrow at noon."

"As you wish," Freed said as he signed off.

Turning to the sky dragon slayer, Laxus said: "Do you have any idea when she'll wake up?"

"Soon," Wendy said. "She's starting to stir a little bit every so often. It shouldn't be much longer."

"_Wendy_?" A voice whispered, and the little girl scurried to Lucy's side as the other girl tried to lift her head.

"Stay still Lucy-san," the youngest slayer said in a rush. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I was washing dishes…" the blonde whispered, wincing slightly as she tried to move one of her hands. "Someone came in…used a knife on my wrists…"

"Cobra smelled the blood and got to you in time." Laxus said quietly. "I called the guild and Shadow Gear brought Wendy and Gajeel. Wendy says you should be okay as soon as your wrists heal."

"Did you get him?" she croaked hoarsely.

"Yes," Gajeel growled. "Still in one piece, I'm afraid."

"Why?" she asked, struggling to sit up. "Why did he come after me?"

"The mayor sent him," Laxus said slowly. "He wants to keep anyone from looking too hard into the matter of your contract. I guess there's been too much chatter about it for him to be comfortable."

"What are you going to do?" she whispered. "Will he keep coming after me?"

Laxus looked at her steadily. "Not if Fairy Tail has anything to say about it. Which we will."

"He's not going to like it," grunted Gajeel. "Every time someone tries to hurt members of this guild, they end up on the losing side. I would know."

"So be it," Levy spat. "Nobody hurts our family and just gets away with it." Her hands clenched into fists, and Gajeel chuckled.

"Calm down Shrimp, you'll get your blood."

*****So I have to say, the line that ends this chapter has to be my favorite. Not gonna lie.**

**In other thoughts...for those who read the manga, Chapter 443? Things I didn't need to think about. **

**We're bringing back an old friend next chapter. Actually, for the next...4ish chapters, we'll be bringing back several people. If anyone can guess all four...I don't know what you'll get, but I'll definitely be impressed. Feel free to guess away.**

**And finally...my posting schedule (in terms of time of day) may be a bit hectic for the next week or so, but I'll do my utmost best to keep to the Monday/Thursday updates.**

**Now, time to go ****argue****_discuss_**** a line in Chapter 21 with my beta. Because that's how that works.*****


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One:**

"Okay everyone, we have three days to think about that." Laxus said sternly. "In the meantime, tomorrow was supposed to be the day I brought in supplies, so I don't have enough to house all of you. Shadow Gear, Wendy, go grab whatever we'll need for all of us for a week, and bring it back. Does someone have a communications lacrima?"

"I've got mine," Wendy said, digging it out of her pocket. "Charle suggested I carry it after Tartarus, so that anyone who needed me could reach me."

"Good," Laxus said with a nod. "Don't spend too long in town, and stay alert. Try not to make it obvious that you're stocking up for my place if possible. I don't know who may be watching, and I'd rather the mayor not try to send in an army if he tries again."

"Got it," Gajeel said with a nod. "Come on kid, Shrimp. We've got a job to do."

As the five shuffled out of the house, Laxus studied Lucy. The blonde looked tired, despite having spent a fair bit of time unconscious. Once they had left, he asked: "Do you want to see Virgo?"

"If it isn't too much trouble," Lucy half-whispered. "They're probably frantic by now. But do you need to go back to the guild for her key?"

"No need," Laxus said getting up with a groan. "I've started keeping your keys here, in one of my drawers. Freed put runes around the drawer to keep them from opening their gates unless they're out of the runes, and to keep you from being able to reach them. It got tiresome going back and forth to grab them."

Once he reached his study, he opened the drawer and fished out her keyring. Unclipping Virgo's key, he dropped the rest on his desk and returned to Lucy.

Putting the key on the table next to her head, he said: "She should be able to appear if the key's this close to you, right?"

"Yeah, it should just be another minute." Lucy said, craning her neck to look at the key.

"I'll leave the two of you alone then," Laxus said, knowing that there was probably going to be a fair bit of female only conversation and interaction and not wanting to be in the middle of it. As he closed the door to his bedroom, he heard the familiar greeting and chuckled a bit as Lucy replied with the familiar denial. That particular spirit was so odd.

* * *

"Hime, are you sure you'll be alright?" Virgo asked softly, not bothering to hide a glare towards the lightning mage standing in the corner of the room. Laxus had returned when he knew the conversation was winding down, but Lucy wished he had waited a few more minutes. Virgo held grudges longer than any of her other spirits, and it was going to take some time before this one went away.

"It's not his fault this time, Virgo. He did the best he could with the information he had at the time. Now that the mayor has shown his hand, we'll be more careful," Lucy replied.

"Punishment, Hime?"

"Not now, and thank you again for helping me."

With a nod, the pink haired spirit disappeared back to the Celestial Realm. Lucy laid back and sunk into the folds of the couch, almost disappearing under all of the blankets that had been draped on top of her by Virgo. She noticed that she was tired, but not overly so, despite being attacked that morning. And that meant that the attack hadn't set her too far back in her physical therapy and training. But it did set her back.

"You feeling alright, Blondie?" Laxus's voice brought her out of her internal cursing.

"I'm fine. Just feeling a little tired after trying to wrap my head around everything." There was no way that she was telling Laxus that she wished she had her keys during the attack. He had just started letting her see her spirits again, in small supervised doses, and with this attack, who knew if his overprotective streak would kick in, making him believe that he was the only one who could protect her. Laxus seemed to be hovering around, closer than usual, since she woke up on the couch, and she could only guess it would be like that for the next few days. She'd ask him about letting her have her spirits permanently soon, once he had a chance to cool off.

Laxus moved closer and sat down in the chair that had quickly become _his_ chair because of its proximity to her couch. "If you want, you can nap for a little bit. I'll wake you up as soon as someone gets around to cooking some dinner. Shadow Gear can be quiet, unlike your team, so you'll be able to get some rest."

A nap sounded wonderful at the moment, and Lucy was grateful for the offer. And based on Laxus's renewed protective measures, she was sure that she didn't need to stay up in case any visitors appeared. Just as she opened her mouth to agree, a thought rushed through her head and she paled. "I forgot to tell Virgo to keep the attack secret from Loke. It's a good thing that you keep the keys in that drawer."

Laxus's brow furrowed, and he looked towards the office.

Lucy tilted her head. "What is it?"

"I can't remember if I left the keys in the drawer, or left them on the top of my desk." Laxus said, rising to go check.

"Do you think…" Lucy began nervously. Her lion was overprotective at best, and from what she had been able to pry out of Virgo, he was nursing a significant grudge, even larger than the one Virgo had been nursing, over the events that had led to Lucy's first near death experience.

"Maybe…"

No sooner had the idea rushed through their heads, a bright light filled the room and Loke stood in the center of the living room. Within two seconds, the lion spirit had pushed Laxus up against the closest wall. "What have you done!"

"I'm right here, Loke," Lucy spoke up, "I'm here and I'm alive. No harm done."

She could see him struggle to momentarily set aside his anger toward the current guild master, but Loke left him and knelt next to Lucy. "Virgo told me you were attacked this morning. Did any of your scars open?" He looked closer and finally noticed the thin strip of bandages that Wendy had taped onto Lucy's wrists since the skin and muscles were still sensitive after the attack. His eyes widened at the sight and he grabbed her gently by the shoulders. "You promised me that this was over!"

"Her attacker slit her wrists in an attempt to make it look like suicide. Lucy made sure to put up a fight this time, but she wasn't ready to face an assassin." Laxus growled at Loke, but Lucy could see the brief flash of fear in his eyes and knew that he was just as afraid as her spirit.

"And how did an assassin manage to slip past one of the most powerful wizards of Fairy Tail?" The leader of the zodiac glared at Laxus, still staying close to Lucy as if to protect her from further harm.

* * *

Laxus sighed. He hadn't thought about how he would have to have this conversation with Loke, but if he had, he would have really been looking forward to avoiding this conversation with the zodiac leader. However, now that he was here there was no way he could hide the truth from him. "I decided that Lucy would be more comfortable if I left her to finish the dishes while I quick checked in with Crime Sorciere."

"You left her alone?" Loke sounded outraged.

"How was I supposed to foresee an assassin targeting Lucy? I've been more concerned about her own ability to function, not someone else wanting to cause her harm!"

"It's your job!" Loke roared. "The day you accepted the role of guild master, you accepted the fact that you were going to have to take care of everyone bearing the mark of Fairy Tail. That job doesn't end as soon as they walk out through the guild doors."

"You don't have the right to lecture me about my responsibilities! I think about the risks that each of my nakama takes whether they leave for a job or just for the night. And ever since Lucy began staying with me, I am reminded of how much I have already failed as a guild master." Laxus hadn't meant to say the last part out loud, and he instantly regretted it as soon as he saw the look of shame that crossed Lucy's face. The trust that he had been slowly building with the celestial mage had just crumbled at his admission.

"We could have helped protect her. But no, you just had to keep us locked away from our master."

"Stop it." Lucy's voice cut through Loke's tirade and the attention of both men turned towards her. "It wasn't Laxus's fault. Okay, maybe keeping my spirits from me was his fault, but he couldn't have known that an assassin would attack me while he stepped out for fifteen minutes. Besides, I was the one that kept asking for some time alone."

"How can you defend him? After all that he's put you through?" Loke's voice began to crack as he looked at Lucy. Laxus could tell that he was somewhere in between being angry and being afraid for her.

The blonde mage reached out to her spirit and cupped his face in her hand. "For now, he's made sure that I'm going to be safe and taken care of. And, for whatever reason, he's actually tried to atone for his failures."

There was a slight coldness to Lucy's voice as she assured her spirit that she was healing. It seemed almost wrong to be in the same room as the spirit and his master, but Laxus forced himself to interrupt the moment. "May I talk to you alone for a moment, Loke?"

"Whatever you have to say, I'm sure you can say it in front of Lucy," Loke replied tersely.

Laxus shifted his gaze from Loke towards Lucy for a moment, and then back to the spirit. Thankfully, the spirit seemed to recognize that this discussion should not trouble the blonde mage. "Alright, I'll step outside for a moment. Don't worry, Lucy. I'll be right back."

Lucy seemed slightly agitated, but Laxus could almost see her trust in the spirit's promises. He had thought that they were building their own trust, but this incident had shattered it.

The two Fairy Tail mages walked outside and out of hearing range before they came to a stop. "What is so important that you would take me away from Lucy? You've kept me away from her long enough." Loke snapped, posture tense.

Laxus crossed his arms across his chest and hoped he was making the right decision. "The assassin was sent by the mayor."

If there were trees nearby, Laxus was sure that there wouldn't be a single one left standing. The rage he had felt coming from the spirit earlier had multiplied, and Laxus was definitely glad he was not on the receiving end of this anger. "We caught the guy. He's with Jellal now, who will keep him in one piece. If he went to the guild, he wouldn't make it out alive."

"So he was sent to make it look like Lucy committed suicide?" Loke growled.

"That's what we've been able to figure it out, based on the way Lucy was hurt and what the assassin said. Apparently there have been too many questions about Lucy's contract for the mayor to feel comfortable with having her alive. We don't know if this is an isolated event, but if we're right in assuming that he wants her dead, I have a feeling that it's not the end."

"It'd be a lot easier to protect her if we were nearby to feel when something is wrong." Loke snapped. "We did it before without any help from you."

Once again, the leader of the zodiac spirits had pointed out one of Laxus's failures. "I should have trusted Lucy enough to have them close in case she needed help when I left her alone. I will take the blame for that much. But for now, we need to deal with the mayor."

"What do you have planned?" Loke seemed interested in the idea of a counterattack. Laxus could understand the need to retaliate after being so helpless when it came to protecting Lucy. It was the only thing keeping him sane.

"I'm putting together a small team. Still not sure on who all is coming, but we're heading straight for the mayor. I figured you might want to tag along as Lucy's spirit, and as a member of Fairy Tail."

A moment passed silently as both parties considered the offer. Laxus knew that he would be going with or without the celestial spirit, but he was hoping that bringing Loke along might get him out of hot water with the Magic Council. If one of Lucy's spirits felt that the attack was justified, the council might lessen any punishments that they handed out. Not only that, but he had seen how powerful the lion spirit could be when he was given the right kind of persuasion, and Laxus was keen on destroying as much as possible at the moment.

"You figure out how this all goes down, and I'll be there. Don't worry about needing Lucy to use her magic to summon me. I'll come out on my own and meet you away from the house where she can't see me. I assume you're keeping the details quiet? It's hard to believe that she would be encouraging this, even if I did hear some interesting threats uttered when she was still enslaved by the debt."

"I may have let it slip that there would be retribution." Laxus admitted. "But I don't want her knowing the details, so she can't be connected to anything in case someone tries to retaliate." Laxus released the breath he had been holding while waiting for Loke's answer. "I'll figure out a plan and get back to you once we decide who else is coming. How should I get in contact with you without alerting Lucy?"

"Just bring my key outside and away from Lucy. I should be able to feel her nearby, but I'll know not to look for her. Or better yet, just leave a piece of paper with the next spirit she calls out and they'll bring it back with them when they return to the celestial spirit world."

Laxus nodded. "Got it. Oh, and thanks for not killing me straight away when you came."

Loke smirked. "If I had it my way, we'd be having a very different conversation right now. But as long as Lucy is alive and well, I suppose I'll try to rein in my anger. However, if I find out that she is harmed in any way again, I won't be the only celestial spirit forcing open their gate. I wouldn't want to be around if that happened if I were you."

With that threat left hanging, Loke turned and started heading back to his master. Laxus waited outside for a few more minutes in order to give them some more time alone. Plans were already starting to form in his mind for the raid in three days' time, and he knew he'd have to pick carefully for this one. He was sure that the few people he had in mind would also have some creative ideas. Only this time, Laxus didn't care about the financial turmoil that always followed Fairy Tail teams when someone had messed with the guild. They had made it personal, and for Lucy, he would do whatever it took.

*****Alrighty guys, I'm taking a break this chapter. Without further ado...:*****

**Beta here, but I can't tell if this counts as an AN or BN. Minus a few small edits, a brief opening before the line break, and one 30 minute argument, this chapter was written by me! Rhose was having a bit of writers block, but I couldn't get this scene out of my head and Rhose discovered that is was what she was looking for in order to move the plot forward. I don't know when Rhose was originally planning on bringing Loke back into the plot, but I couldn't stop him from almost literally forcing himself back into the story. This chapter has been one of my favorite things to write and I'm hoping it flows well with the rest of the story Rhose has crafted. Please let me know what you think in some reviews – that way I can work on my writing style as I keep working on the scene between Angel and Lucy that so many readers were wondering about. You'll be hearing from me soon!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two:**

Standing in the doorway of her room, he watched her sleep. Even in sleep, she curled in on herself, protecting her healing wrists. The sight made his heart ache, and he turned away, closing the door and joining the group in the living room.

"Wendy, you know why you can't go," Levy was saying, and Laxus sighed. _So the kid's still at it_. The youngest dragon slayer had been begging incessantly to join the group that was heading to the mayor's office, disregarding all of the reasons she couldn't, the main one being that someone had to stay with Lucy.

"Kid, I get it," Gajeel growled as Laxus entered the room. "Everyone at the guild wants to help Lucy. But we can't all go rushing in there, and we need someone to stay with Lucy. Think of it this way: you're strong enough that we're trusting Lucy to you alone."

"But I want to fight!" the bluenette cried, her hands in fists. Smelling Laxus in the room, she ran to him. "Laxus-san, _please_, let me come with you!"

"I'm sorry Wendy, but I need you here. Lucy can't be left alone." He understood her desire to fight, his own had been boiling in him for three days. But what use would this fight be if he returned and Lucy was dead?

"Leave her keys near her!" Wendy said angrily, stomping her foot. "They'll come out if she needs any help."

Reaching into his pocket, Laxus pulled out one of Lucy's keys. A golden shimmer, and Loke appeared next to him, dressed for battle. "I'm not going to leave her here alone if Loke's coming along. Wendy, this is an order. Stay with Lucy."

With a growl of frustration, Wendy ran into Lucy's room, leaving Laxus with Shadow Gear and Gajeel. Taking a breath, he said: "Jellal's group is almost here. We should head out if we're going to meet the Raijinshu, Mira, Erza, and Cana in time."

Outside, they found Cobra waiting on the path leading to Magnolia. "The others are just behind me," the dragon slayer said with a grin. "I'm looking forward to being able to cut loose. It's been too long since my last fight."

"Remember, we're not out for blood," Jellal said, appearing out of the woods, dressed as Mystogun. "Damage and a warning, but no casualties. Even though they would have killed Lucy, it doesn't give us the right to exact the same punishment on them." He tugged along the assassin, who looked ten years older after spending three days in Crime Sorciere's camp. "None of us wants to end up in jail again."

"Let's go," Laxus growled, watching the sun rise over the horizon. "Day's beginning."

It was a quick walk to the main street of Magnolia, but by the time they arrived, the others were already there. Stopping short, Laxus growled at the sight of the people clogging the street. "Freed, I told you to keep the rune barrier up until this was over."

"I apologize Laxus-sama, but I could not guarantee its sturdiness if I am also fighting." Freed said coldly with a bow. "Everyone else wanted desperately to participate, and my barrier would likely have been broken by their struggles to get out. It was in our best interest for me to release the barrier. We can give some orders now, and things may go the way we planned."

Sighing, Laxus turned to the crowd. He had never seen Fairy Tail this angry since…after Fantasia perhaps? No, that couldn't even compare. It was if he had a horde of angry Natsus looking at him.

"Okay people, you win. But you follow my orders, got it?" He snapped, and was rewarded by answering nods.

"Alzack, Bisca, I want you to announce our arrival with a set of shots that break the windows. Nobody dies today. That goes for everyone," he said sternly, and while some mages looked disappointed, they all nodded. Fairy Tail was more destructive than murderous.

"Everyone else, I want a perimeter around the mayor's office. The original strike team: Crime Sorciere, the Rajinshu, Erza, Mira, Cana, and I will enter, but I need the rest of you outside. Keep civilians from entering, keep the mayor's people from leaving, and feel free to graffiti all over the building. I want everyone to know that this is how Fairy Tail takes its revenge. Now, are we ready?"

An echoing roar answered him, and Laxus finally started to open the lid of the rage that had been simmering inside him. "Fairy Tail, move out!" he roared.

Like a tidal wave, they swept down the center street. Most people were just leaving their houses, but Laxus knew the mayor's office would be fully occupied. Gajeel had been using his shadow mode to scout the office for the past three days. At this time of day, the only people who would be caught by the Fairies would be the people responsible. Less chance for collateral damage.

The mayor's office came into sight, and he felt his lips twitching into a feral grin as he growled. Behind him, he heard echoing growls from Gajeel and Cobra. For a brief minute, he wished Natsu was present, because the kid could cause more damage than the entire guild combined, but he dismissed it quickly. This was _his_ fight. His nakama had been harmed; and as guild leader, it was his right and responsibility to deliver retribution.

Reaching the building, he rapped out orders. "Raijinshu, take Shadow Gear and go in the back! Crime Sorciere, Mira, Cana, with me! Everyone else, form a perimeter! Alzack, Bisca, let them know we're here!"

"Got it!" the guns-mages called, ex-quipping their favorite weapons. "Here we go!"

As they pulled the trigger, the entire guild watched the bullets soar towards the windows, grins on their faces. Laxus and his two strike teams waited, ready to move as soon as the windows shattered.

Yet they never did. The bullets ricocheted as they hit some barrier around the building. Looking for Freed, Laxus snarled: "Did you not remove the barrier?"

The rune mage shook his head, sword hand twitching. "This isn't my work," he snapped. "I took that barrier down ages ago. Someone else made this."

"Did the mayor hire other mages?" Ever wondered, reaching out to tap on the barrier. "It's not runic in nature."

"I'm sorry everyone," a voice said from outside the barrier. Whirling around, Laxus saw Doranbolt and a legion of Rune Knights outside the barrier. "However, I cannot allow you to continue with this."

"How the hell did you get here?" Laxus growled, his guildmates making room for him as he stalked towards the barrier. "And I don't think you have any right to tell us what we can and can't do. This is a guild matter."

Doranbolt shrugged off his coat, revealing his right bicep. "Actually, I think I have some say."

The roars of the Fairy Tail members died as they took in the guild symbol on his shoulder. Laxus paused briefly, taken aback, but collected himself. "How do I know that it isn't a trick used to try and infiltrate Fairy Tail?"

"Your grandfather revealed it to me the day Fairy Tail was disbanded." Doranbolt said bitterly. "I did not feel comfortable returning when you restarted the guild, but the symbol does not fade easily."

"You can't stop us," Laxus growled, lightning flickering around his arms. "We have a purpose for being here, and you will not interfere."

"I know all about Lucy Heartfilia's brushes with death," Doranbolt said calmly. "And that is why I am here. The Magic Council is required to look into all contracts involving mages upon request, and a request has been issued. As a member of the Council, I refuse to let you exact your revenge outside the system. You have my full assurances that the investigation will be thorough and fair. Members of Fairy Tail will be called to give testimony in this case, so please keep your guild members in Magnolia for the duration of the investigation."

"Who the hell told you?" growled Laxus, looking around at his guild mates. "Scarlet, do you have something you need to tell me?"

"It wasn't Erza, Laxus-san," a small voice said, and Laxus saw Wendy step out of the crowd of Rune Knights. "I told Doranbolt-san."

"_Why_?" he hissed, lightning running up and down his skin. "Why get the Council involved? And why have you left Lucy by herself?"

Wendy looked as if she had been slapped, but Doranbolt put a hand on her shoulderand she collected herself. "Lucy-nee is here with me," she said quietly. "And I've been keeping in touch with Doranbolt-san since the guild disbanded. When he called the other day to see how I was doing, I was at your house with Lucy, and ended up telling him everything. He said that he could open an investigation, and if what I told him was true, both the assassin and the mayor could go to jail for a very long time."

"They deserve more than jail," Loke growled, coming up to stand next to Laxus. "They need to know what happens when you hurt a mage of Fairy Tail."

"Loke," a voice called, and the Rune Knights parted to reveal Lucy walking unsteadily towards the barrier. "You know that this isn't what I want. I just want to move on, and if we keep attacking each other, this is never going to go away. Doranbolt has a way to make it stop once and for all. Please, just let him carry on the investigation."

She wavered, and the lion disappeared in a flash, reappearing next to her to help support her. Wendy moved to her side, but Lucy waved her off. "I'm fine, I just walked a bit too quickly on the way here."

Gasps and whispers were growing around Laxus, and he realized that this was the first time most of the guild had seen Lucy since she had nearly died. The girl seemed to realize that as well, because she waved at the mages inside the barrier. "Hi guys. See, I'm doing okay."

"LUCY!" several voices screamed, and the dragon slayers winced at the volume. Before the guild could be distracted Doranbolt spoke to Laxus again.

"During the investigation, which should take three days, I will confine all of Fairy Tail to the guild hall. This is to prevent any ah…_accidents_ from occurring. After I have come to a decision regarding this case, you will have to abide by it. There will be no vigilante operations, or I will prohibit Fairy Tail from taking any jobs for a year. Do you understand?"

He had no choice. Laxus couldn't see any way out of this situation but to agree. Letting his lightning die down, he nodded. "Let me be confined to my house, and Crime Sorciere to their camp. Lucy gets to decide where she goes as well."

"Very well," Doranbolt said. "Lucy, where do you want to stay?"

"I'll return to Laxus's house, if he'll have me," the blonde said, still leaning slightly on Loke. "I don't really have anywhere else to go, and the guild's going to be a bit crowded."

"As you wish," Doranbolt said. "Now, if the members of Crime Sorciere could move to the forefront?"

Jellal and his team stepped up to stand by Laxus, Doranbolt hardly giving them a second glace. "Captain, please escort these mages to their camp. Mystogun, I assume you're in charge?"

At the silent nod, Doranbolt said: "Mystogun will show you the way. Place a barrier around it and remain nearby to ensure it is maintained."

"You might want to bring Laxus and I with them," Lucy suggested. "Their camp isn't too far from Laxus's house."

"Very well then. Laxus, are you prepared to leave?"

He shrugged. Nothing was going to get accomplished now that the Council had taken over. Doranbolt motioned to one of the Rune Knights, and they moved forward towards the group of eight mages. "If you would come with me?"

Allowing himself to be led away, Laxus looked over his shoulder, seeing anger on the faces of many of the mages behind him. His own rage had drained away, leaving him with nothing left but a terrible feeling of brokenness. He had failed Lucy again, and he had failed to exact the retribution that Fairy Tail deserved. _I've failed_.

*****Don't shoot! There's a reason, I promise. **

**My beta practically ordered me to thank you for all of your support last chapter. When she told me she had drafted something, I read it and knew that it was word for word what should be there. I had been planning on bringing Loke back, but she just got everything down perfect. We were both so happy to hear that you guys liked it as well.**

**Other than that...not too much to say. My favorite chapter might be the next one, so I'm super excited for Thursday. See you then!*****


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three:**

_Three days_, Doranbolt thought as he walked towards the cabin in the woods. Three days of talking to Fairy Tail members, town employees, and bystanders who encountered Lucy during her year and a half of working for the mayor. Most of his testimony had come from Lucy and the mayor, as well as the Raijinshu and Gajeel. However, the worst moments had to have been when he sat with Wendy and Porlyusica, learning about the extent of Lucy's injuries. Looking over his notes afterwards, he realized how lucky she was to be alive. The injuries she had might have killed her even if she didn't open the bandages herself.

Reaching the cabin, he nodded to the Rune Knight standing nearby, and the barrier dispersed. Walking up the steps, he knocked on the door, and was shocked when Lucy opened it. "Hi Doranbolt, how goes the investigation?"

"It's over now," he said, and realized that they had a lot in common. According to Makarov, he had gone so far as to erase his own memories and enter the council for Fairy Tail, sacrificing everything he had for the guild. Lucy had done the same, but she had the scars and the memories that would never ever fade. Coming back to himself, he found her looking at him with concern in her eyes. "Is Laxus here?" he asked, trying to cover up his thoughts.

"He's in his room," Lucy said, stepping aside to let him enter. "I'll go and tell him that you're here. Please, make yourself comfortable. Do you want anything?"

"Please, don't trouble yourself on my account," Doranbolt said, taking a seat on the couch. "I shouldn't be here too long."

"Just a minute then," Lucy said, disappearing down a hallway that presumably led to wherever Laxus was. A few minutes later, she returned, saying "He'll be out in just a moment."

"Not a problem. I realize that I'm coming without any warning." Doranbolt expected Lucy to sit down, or to at least lean against something to take her weight off her feet. Instead she went into the kitchen and returned a few moments later with a teapot and two cups. Pouring tea into one, she handed the cup to Doranbolt. "Do you add anything?" she asked, about to return to the kitchen. "I usually don't, and neither does Laxus, so I didn't think to bring sugar or cream."

"It's fine," he said, taking the cup. "I typically don't have time for tea because I need the caffeine coffee provides, but I'd rather have tea if I don't have to work."

"I'll be right back," Lucy said. "I just need to make sure he didn't get lost."

She left the room, and Doranbolt noticed how deliberate her movements were. He remembered an interview with a man who spent most of his days on the canal by Lucy's old apartment.

_She used to walk up on top of the ledge, almost falling off sometimes, but she always kept her balance. We knew things were good when she walked up there, and when things were rough, she walked down on the street with the rest of us. Something changed though, after the guild disbanded. The days when we saw her on the ledge were rare, and she didn't have the same grace that she used to have. It's been a long time now, since we saw her on the ledge._

It was amazing how much could change in under two years, Doranbolt reflected as he stared at his tea. The bright, blonde celestial mage who had been considered the light of Fairy Tail was now slower, older, and scarred. She wore clothing that covered most of her skin, but he could see the scars on her neck that peeked out from under her collar. From Wendy's report, she had recovered the bulk of her motor skills, only lacking in stamina and fine motor control. He could see it as she had handed him the tea, hand trembling almost imperceptibly. But she didn't let anyone help her, didn't want any fuss over her.

"He'll be here in a minute," Lucy said as she returned to the room. "He's just finishing something. Is there anything else I can get you?"

"You've done more than enough Lucy," Doranbolt said gently. "It's fine."

"I'll be in the other room," she said, leaving. "Please, call if you need me."

Alone in the living room, Doranbolt wondered if she would want him to erase her memories of the past year and a half. Seeing the mission reports that she wrote…seeing her novel, the one that was apparently started after the guild's disbandment…she had been hurting on the inside for a long time. And those scars didn't always fade. But if he made it disappear, altered the memories of everyone who knew what was going on…maybe that would make it better.

A shuffling from the hallway made him look up, and he saw Laxus in the doorway. The man looked terrible, bloodshot eyes, complete with bags and a few days' stubble…Doranbolt wondered if he had slept since the investigation began. But as Laxus dropped into the chair across from him, picked up the tea, and grimaced, he caught a whiff of alcohol, and wondered what Fairy Tail's newest guild master had really been doing.

"Lucy says you want to talk to me?" Laxus said, his voice rough, but clear.

"Yes, I finished the investigation." He didn't _seem_ drunk, but he certainly smelt drunk. Doranbolt couldn't understand what was going on. Lucy seemed perfectly fine. If Laxus was struggling this much, wouldn't Lucy have said something, given something away?

"And what's the result?" Laxus grunted, taking a gulp of tea.

"The Magic Council has found the mayor guilty of issuing improper job requests, undervaluing completed jobs, and willfully endangering the life of a mage for monetary gain. Typically, the usual sentence for each is a modest fine, with the exception of the last charge, which is a few years in prison for a first-time offender, but considering the number of times each crime was committed, and the growing disregard for Miss Heartfilia's wellbeing, the total sentence is life in prison for the mayor. His assistant is receiving a similar sentence for being complicit, and the assassin will receive life for attempted murder. We had to stretch the charges a bit, but it's within the legal authority of the council to issue such sentences. Given the potential for future threats to arise because it is nigh impossible to completely determine who was complicit other than the three main actors. We're still gathering evidence from the mayor, but due to the time constraints, we focused on the immediate sentencing so that Miss Heartfilia can have a resolution to this matter. Of course, she is welcome to come to the Council at any time if she has a legitimate proof that she is being persecuted or harmed because of this affair, and we will take the appropriate actions. Because of the immediate sentencing, it may be difficult to determine the full scope of this affair, but rest assured we will pursue it to the finish." Doranbolt rattled off the legal speech effortlessly, having grown used to it in the years he had worked for the Council. While he did so, he watched Laxus's face, but the lightning dragon slayer's eyes were dull.

"I guess this means we can't beat him to a pulp," Laxus grunted eventually.

"We have already arrested the three men for their involvement, and they are being transported to the Council building at once for their trial." Doranbolt said. "Once I finish here, I will go to Fairy Tail and release the guild members from the building. I was hoping that you would come and announce the investigation findings to the guild and keep them from acting on their own."

Laxus shook his head, slumping down into his chair. "Just tell Freed, he and the Raijinshu will make sure that everyone toes the line."

Doranbolt raised his eyebrow. "What do you plan to do?"

"Try to keep from hurting people," Laxus said dully. "The fewer people I see, the less of a chance they'll get hurt. The fewer decisions I make, the less of a chance that I'll make a bad one."

"Aren't you guild master though?" Doranbolt couldn't understand. From what he knew about Laxus, the man had been striving for this his entire life. Why would he just sit here now that he had attained his position as guild master?

"Freed and the Raijinshu do a better job than me," Laxus grunted. "All I'm good for is signing papers and breaking things."

"Doranbolt-san," Lucy's voice from the doorway made both men look up. "Is the tea cold? Let me get some fresh tea."

Before either of them could say anything, she had carefully lifted the teapot and moved into the kitchen. Doranbolt watched Laxus's face as the other man followed the celestial mage with his eyes. Never before had he seen such guilt on a person's face. Things were beginning to look a bit clearer now.

"If that's all, I'll be going," Laxus said, pulling himself out of his chair. "Feel free to stay though," he grunted as an afterthought.

As he disappeared, Lucy reappeared with the teapot. "He left already?" she asked. "Oh well. Will you have another cup of tea?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Doranbolt said quietly, passing her his cup. "Lucy, do you ever wish that you could forget everything that happened and move on like that?"

"Not really," she said, pouring him a fresh cup. "I know what you're suggesting, but I don't want to forget. As bad as it was, I learned from all of it."

"When I go to the guild, do you want to come with me? It seems like you're on your own out here. Or should I ask someone to come out?"

"We're doing just fine," she said, passing his cup back to him. "I know it doesn't look that way, but having another person in the house, or taking me out of it, won't help."

"Lucy," he began, not sure how to put what he had seen into words. "He's not…"

"I know he's not okay," she said quietly, looking at her hands in her lap. "And you understand why, and I do too. It's hard to feel helpless, and it's even worse to think about what you should have done. But when you're in that mindset, there's only so much someone else can do. Sometimes you have to just let them work through it for themselves. If he wants to deal with it like this, so be it. When I threw things and said cruel things to people, he minimized the damage to others and let me work through it at my own pace. You had your own way of coping, and I'm sure there was a day when you woke up and said that you were going to move on. He'll get there. We just have to wait for that day and hold the guild together for him."

Looking at the blonde sitting across from him, Doranbolt knew that she was right. Nothing anyone could say would get through to Laxus until he dealt with his own demons. And as long as he wasn't hurting anyone or anything, he was actually relatively harmless. "You'll stay with him then?"

"Until he's back to normal," Lucy said. "Besides, I like it out here. It's peaceful, and that peace is helping me work through things."

"You do seem remarkably calm, given what I've learned," Doranbolt ventured. "How are you doing?"

Lucy's face went stony. "I'm angry nearly every day," she said quietly. "At him, at the guild, at the mayor, at the guild, at myself, at Natsu…I used to wonder why they fought so hard to keep me alive when they didn't care about how they were killing me before it was happening right before their eyes. I still hate seeing the pity in some of their eyes, and the hero-worship is just as bad."

Doranbolt remembered the list of missions the blonde completed solo. "You have done things that rival Erza and Natsu's accomplishments," he pointed out mildly. "Your track record is almost as good as any of the Fairy Tail S-class, both past and present. Well, perhaps excepting Gildarts."

"Gildarts is his own class," Lucy snorted. "But I didn't do it because I wanted to be famous like them. I'm quite happy just being Lucy Heartfilia, a member of Fairy Tail. Because I only did what anyone else in the guild would have done. You've done the same. I wanted to be unseen, all that time. It was unfair, what the mayor did to me, but I didn't want help, and I didn't want pity. I just wanted to protect my family, and having everyone know would have rendered that useless."

"They don't tell stories about the ones unseen," Doranbolt mused.

"Who needs stories about me?" Lucy laughed. "I'm the girl who Minerva tortured, who fell against Flare. Let them tell about Erza and Pandemonium, or Natsu and Sabertooth's twin dragons. Or Laxus, defeating Raven Tail's entire team. Wendy destroying one of the Faces. Natsu and Grey fighting Mard Geer…my own efforts lead to people getting hurt."

"Your spirit?" Doranbolt asked quietly.

"Who told you?" Lucy said, pulling out her keys and showing him the broken one.

"Freed. He said that when Loke left the keys with Laxus, they wondered if you had tried to commit suicide because it was broken."

"No," Lucy said, eyes far away. "Aquarius sacrificed herself during the battle against Tartarus. I have her magic now, see?" Pulling her collar away from her neck, Lucy showed him a black scrolling tattoo across her collarbone. "If my control was better, I would show you her magic, but it's still pretty iffy. We were fighting the demons, and we were the only ones left standing. Aquarius told me to summon the Spirit King by breaking her key, and even though I argued with her, she told me it was the only way. It's one of those things you learn to live with after a while. Virgo brings me the occasional note from her, and it's full of the same old same old, so I know nothing's changed. But each time I touch her key, the guilt's there. I don't think it will ever go away."

Doranbolt studied her, and realized again how much she reminded him of himself when he was grieving over the loss of the Fairy Tail members on Tenrou. But he could see that she was determined to move forward, determined to rise beyond the guilt, anger, and shame that tried to keep her trapped in despair. _If anyone could have helped me then, it was her_.

"Do you see why I'm staying?" she asked, looking him in the eye.

"I do, and I think that it's as much for you as it is for him. Please, let me know if there's anything you need, even if it's a personal problem. I understand that you may not want to talk to the guild right now, especially if he's this way. Is there a message you want me to send?"

Lucy nodded. "Please tell Freed that I don't want to see anyone at all. Tell him that Laxus ordered everyone to stay away until further notice. If you could make it sound like I'm the one struggling, not Laxus, it would give him more time to get his head straight. I don't know if it's the right decision in the long run, but the Raijinshu will know him better than I do. They'll figure it out if something's wrong, and they'll come, no matter what lies I spread."

"I'll do that," Doranbolt said, rising from his place on the couch. "Do you want me to tell Crime Sorciere too?"

"That would be lovely," Lucy said, showing him to the door. "I appreciate everything you've done Doranbolt. And thank you for taking care of Erza while the guild was disbanded. She needed someone looking out for her."

"Thank you for keeping Fairy Tail alive," Doranbolt said softly. "I may not be an active member, but some part of me, I think, will always be a Fairy."

She grinned slightly. "That's how it is with all of us."

*****Okay, confession time. As of Monday's posting, there was no further motive behind the mayor's dealings with Lucy. He wanted her keys, because they were valuable. Even if there wasn't another Celestial Wizard who would buy them, there would probably be a collector who would pay handsomely for such valuable items. When he decided to send the assassin, it was because he was worried about rumors spreading about Lucy's contract and what he did. Without Lucy around to talk about it, there's no story, right? Other than that, he had not further motive. I was much more interested in Lucy and Laxus's relationship and reactions at the time.**

**And then I read ****kurahieiritr JIO's review. The plot bunnies began to breed. My beta and I had conversations that led to her saying: "Go write it and then I'll read."**

**So, right now here's the plan. I'm not sure if I'm going to pursue a more intricate motive for the mayor's attempts to get the keys. ****_Still Standing_**** will follow it's original course, because it's a monster. Seriously, it's just under a hundred thousand words, and I'm going to need to edit the last chapters because I'm not quite happy with them yet. However, I am contemplating a sequel, which would address the true motivation for the mayor's attacks on Lucy. Right now, the plot bunnies have it set three years from the disbanding of Fairy Tail (so one and a half years from the time Lucy's contract was ended). I've drafted the first chapter and a half, just to play with the idea. At the moment, I don't know how this will fit into my plans, since I had the CoLu next. Depending on writing, I may choose to simultaneously publish both, or wait and do one at a time. It's really up in the air.**

**But anyway, ****_Still Standing_**** will focus mainly on Lucy and Laxus's relationship and recovery from the contract, as well as Lucy's interactions with returning guild members. She hasn't made up with Erza yet, and as everyone's fond of reminding me, Grey and Natsu aren't back yet either. And Laxus has some issues of his own to get through. Thanks everyone for sticking with me this far, and if I do work on a sequel, I hope you enjoy that as much as you do this!*****


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four:**

When Grey walked up to Fairy Tail, he didn't expect to see the doors closed. Usually they were at least partially open, especially since they were constantly being slammed open or shut, or someone was being sent flying through them. But today, over a year and a half since he had left the guild, they were closed tightly. He couldn't even hear anything, and on some days, the roar the guild made was audible halfway across the town.

Exchanging wary glances with Juvia, he reached to open the doors, feeling the air grow cooler around him as he readied his magic. _Did the guild move? Does this have anything to do with the weird looks people kept giving us?_

Throwing open the doors, he was met with the strangest sight of all. Fairy Tail was present, but oddly silent. As the two returning mages walked through the tables towards the bar, Grey glanced around. Gajeel sat in his usual corner, but Grey realized with a shudder that he looked as menacing as he did while he was in Phantom Lord. Levy sat next to him, and Grey shuddered at the cold, angry look on her face. _Has she ever looked like that?_

Jet and Droy were nearby, glowering at the table they were sitting at. Macao and Wakaba were sitting in their usual spots near the bar, but they weren't drinking. Or smoking. Something was wrong.

_Was the guild attacked?_ If it weren't for the lack of damage, or the angry bustle that would have accompanied the aftermath of an attack, Grey would have guessed that something had happened. But around him the guild members sat sullenly quiet, and he was almost afraid to disturb the silence by speaking.

Reaching the bar, he glanced at the occupants with surprise. Cana was a regular, but her usual barrel of alcohol was missing. When she caught him looking, she scowled and slammed the glass of water she had in her hand on the bar. Some of it sloshed over the side, but Kinana, who was usually the most mild-mannered member of the guild, simply scowled at Cana, threw a dry rag at her, and went back to furiously scrubbing the plate she was cleaning.

The person who surprised him the most was Freed, slumped over the bar in the corner. Grey had never seen the Rune mage drink before, but there was no mistaking the empty bottles in front of him, nor the general air that surrounded him. The green-haired captain of the Raijinshu was hungover; there was no denying it.

"Where's Mira?" Grey asked, breaking the silence. He could feel Juvia at his back, and was grateful for it. They had been through a lot during the time they had spent away from the guild, and they had learned to trust each other beyond the bond of trust between guild mates. When it was just two of you, you learned a lot about the other person, like it or not.

Kinana jerked her head towards the back room and went on scrubbing. In a minute, Mira herself appeared, and Grey flinched as he felt the demon aura rolling off her. She wasn't in her Satan Soul form, but she looked as if she would transform any moment.

"Grey," she said, her tone clipped. "Juvia. How nice to have you back."

"It's good to be back Mira," Grey said carefully. "When we heard that Gramps came to his senses…"

"Makarov isn't Master," Mira snapped, eyes flashing. "His grandson is."

_Laxus?_ Grey thought. He wasn't overly surprised, seeing as how Laxus had been working towards reforming his image in the guild, but he didn't expect him to take over so soon. _Is Laxus why the guild is so different?_

"Juvia thinks everyone is so quiet, something must be wrong," his companion piped up, coming to stand next to him. "Is everything okay?"

"Just peachy," Cana grumbled before saying: "Mira, has the booze been replenished yet?"

"You know it hasn't," Mira snarled, seizing one of the bottles next to Freed and throwing it under the counter where Grey knew there was a bin. The noise it made was like thunder in the silent guild, and Grey flinched. "The Captain here finished it off last night when he got spectacularly _drunk_."

Grey's eyes were wide. Freed never drank, to his knowledge. For the Rune mage to get as drunk as Mira suggested he did was impossible to comprehend. "What's going on here?"

Before he could get his answer, the doors opened again. "Has anyone been out to Laxus's this week?" a voice called, and Grey turned to see Cobra walking towards the bar. Hissing, he dropped into his stance, feeling the magic welling up, waiting for an idea to take shape in his mind.

The dragon slayer stopped dead in his tracks. "Someone call him off?" he asked, his voice tight. "I take it nobody's explained…?"

"Stand down Grey," someone called, and he turned to see Erza appearing from the hallway that led to the training area, or at least it had in the old guild hall. "He's not our enemy anymore."

"Erza," he said, shifting out of his stance and moving to greet her, but she brushed by him.

"Mira, some water please?" she said, but Cana shoved her untouched glass of water over to her.

"Take it," the brunette said, irritated. "Done slicing the training dummies into bits for the morning?"

"Yeah," the re-quip mage said, taking the glass. "They take so long to reassemble."

"Has anyone been out to Laxus's lately?" Cobra said again, coming up to lean against the bar, flashing a shy smile at Kinana.

"No," Mira snapped, clearing another bottle from the pile in front of Freed. "Lucy didn't want any of us there before, why would things have changed now?"

"Nobody's answering when any of us knocks," Cobra said, his voice calm. "I can smell them both in there, but neither of them have left the house for days. When Angel said that nobody was answering, we figured that she didn't want to see us for a while and you guys were handling things. Jellal sent me over to check on things, and if I didn't smell anything new I was to come see if he had been talking to you. We can't get him on the communications lacrima."

"Good riddance," Freed snarled, raising his head from the bar. Grey's eyes widened at the sight of his bloodshot eyes and haggard appearance. _What is going on here?_

"If nobody was answering, why didn't you check the interior?" Mira snapped. "They could be lying there dead."

"I would have smelled another scent if there was a problem," Cobra snapped back. "Jellal said that Doranbolt told him that Laxus ordered everyone to stay away for a little bit. I just wanted to confirm that everything was okay, because we can't get any contact with him _or_ Lucy."

"Doranbolt told us that too," Mira said casually. "We decided to obey the order."

"Can someone _please_ tell me what is going on here, and why Lucy is apparently with Laxus at this moment?" Grey snapped, drawing all eyes to him. Mira and Freed exchanged a glance, and when neither of them moved to explain, Cobra sighed.

"I don't know the whole of it, 'cause we came in during the middle of all this," the dragon slayer said carefully. "But Lucy was hurt on some mission, and she was sent to Laxus's house to recover. We helped out by going over when Laxus had to go out so she wasn't alone if she needed something. A week and a half ago, maybe a little less, he decided she was doing well enough to manage on her own while he came to our camp to talk with Jellal…" he paused and caught the glare that Erza was sending him. "Er, Mystogun. Anyway, while he was gone, someone got into the house and attacked Lucy. I was walking by, so she didn't die, but she came kinda close. We caught the guy, and traced him back to the mayor. When we went to, ah…_talk_ with him, Doranbolt and the Council showed up. They took over, did an investigation, and then rounded up the guys responsible and marched them away. We were all confined to our camp, or guild hall, for the three days the investigation lasted, and then we were set free."

Grey felt as if he had been punched in the gut, but there were still details left to be explained. "How did Lucy get hurt in the first place? And why did the mayor send a man to kill her?"

If anything, the silence got colder. Freed and Mira exchanged another glance, and after a long pause, Freed said: "Lucy made a contract with the mayor while everyone was gone, and he used it to try and get her keys from her. She continued to outwit him until she nearly died here, in the middle of the guild. Laxus had made her resign the contract when he came back, not bothering to see what it was about. When she was ready to finish her recovery, she went to Laxus's home, and he adjusted his schedule to be able to manage her care."

"And now neither of them have been heard from in the past week?" Grey snapped. "Isn't he guild master? Who's been taking care of things here?"

Freed raised his hand. "All of the Raijinshu have been doing his job since she was moved to his house. We're pretty much at the point where we don't need him anymore."

"But he and Lucy are still your nakama," Grey said, trying to understand the apathy that was displayed by the person who stood by Laxus when everyone else had turned away. "I don't understand why you're not jumping to go check on him."

"He's the reason that she was hurt both times," Freed snapped. "Forgive me if I don't jump to make sure he's okay. And if he cared about the guild, he wouldn't have just walked away and let the mayor get off without any punishment. So don't lecture me about what I owe him."

"What about Lucy?" Grey snapped. "She's been hurt twice, and you're blaming him for both times. So even if you're not worried about him, why aren't you worried about her?"

"We are worried about her," a voice snapped near his elbow, and he nearly jumped back in surprise, seeing Levy there. Juvia hummed angrily behind him, but he shook his head. They had been out on their own for so long, sometimes it was hard to remember that not everyone they talked to was a potential threat.

"We are _very_ worried about her," Levy said, and to his surprise Grey saw that she looked torn between anger and tears. "But you've been gone for a long time Grey, and she's changed. It's best to just leave her alone sometimes."

"It hasn't been two years yet!" Grey said, and he turned to Erza. "Come on Erza, let's go see Lucy."

Erza's face fell, and he felt his stomach churn. She looked as heartbroken as he had seen her at the Tower of Heaven. "Grey…she hasn't let me see her. I've been back a month and I only saw her the first day I arrived because I went straight to Laxus's once I heard that she was there and injured. Any time I've tried to go see her, I've been told that all members of Team Natsu are banned. Most of the time _nobody_ goes out there from the guild. She doesn't want anyone around."

"Except Laxus, apparently," Grey snorted.

Mira, Cana, and Levy exchanged glances. "She's usually pretty upset with him too," Mira said carefully. "When he told her that she was being moved to his place, she would have decked him if she was able to."

"As it was, she still punched him in the jaw when he landed at the house," Levy muttered.

Grey looked at the women, eyes narrowed. "Lucy can normally take care of herself. How injured _was_ she if she had to be _moved_, and couldn't deck him?" His voice had risen since he started the sentence, to the point where he was almost yelling.

Wendy stuck her head out of the infirmary. "Grey-san, are you back?" When he waved, she scampered down the stairs and threw herself at him in a hug. "Grey-san! And Juvia nee-san! You came back!"

After Juvia had released the girl, Grey looked at the youngest dragon slayer. "Wendy, can you tell me how badly Lucy was injured?"

Glancing between the Raijinshu and the two members of Team Natsu who had returned, Wendy bit her lip. "Ummm, she nearly died. I wasn't here when they found her, but if Porlyusica had been much later, she probably would have died of blood loss. By the time I got back from my mission, she was out of the woods, but they wanted me to heal her completely so that she couldn't open the wounds again…"

"Wait, _again_? Wendy, how was she injured?" Erza said, setting her glass of water on the bar. "I know that she looked as if she was recovering when I saw her…"

"She was cut to ribbons," Freed said, his voice flat. "I found her in her room, but she insisted on heading out for her mission after she was bandaged up. When we tried to stop her, not knowing what was going on, she opened her bandages. Loke had orders not to let anyone interfere, but Laxus got there in time and got her out. According to Wendy, she had major nerve and muscle damage that was healed, but in order to get her strength back, she needed to undergo physical therapy. The day Erza came back was the first day I saw her walk after she was injured."

"That was a _month_ after her injury." Erza whispered, her face morphing into pure rage. "She was hurt _that badly_? Why did you let her go on that mission?"

"Do you think we had a choice?" Freed spat, reaching for one of the empty bottles and inspecting it. When he saw that it was indeed empty, he threw it angrily at the wall. As it shattered, Mira glared at him, but he ignored her. "She didn't tell us anything, and Laxus was too big of a fool to ask her what the hell he had gotten her into. We were all so damn happy with ourselves that we didn't see her drowning until it was too late."

"Juvia didn't think Freed-san would ever say that about Laxus-sama. She thought you were his best friend," the woman said quietly from her place next to Wendy. "Juvia wonders if that's why you drink."

Freed glared at Juvia, and Grey twitched at the amount of loathing in his eyes. Keeping himself still, he waited for the other man to explain himself.

"I _was_ his best friend," Freed snapped. "And then he hurt her, not only once, but twice. I failed _her_ both times. When he finally did something right, he let Doranbolt just take the guys responsible without a fight. Since when does Laxus-_sama_ walk away from a fight, especially when it's to protect his guild mates? Because that's what he did. Master Makarov would have never let that happen. You all attacked Phantom when Shadow Gear was hurt."

"Doranbolt-san wasn't here then," Wendy said timidly, but she recoiled when Mira, Freed, Cana, and Levy glared at her. Ducking behind Juvia, she hung her head in shame.

"Wendy, we understand that you only told Doranbolt because you were worried about Lucy, but it was a guild matter," Erza said sternly. "Fairy Tail handles its own matters."

"But you could have all gone to jail!" Wendy cried, clinging on to Juvia. "The law states that mages may not attack non-mages unless in life-threatening circumstances! And I thought Fairy Tail wouldn't do that anyway!"

"They hurt Lucy," Levy growled, and Gajeel came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "They should have known that if that happened, we would come calling. And the only people who would have gotten hurt were those involved."

Wendy opened her mouth to reply, but Grey said: "So, Wendy told Doranbolt about what happened to Lucy, he got here in time to prevent the mayor from getting himself killed for hurting Lucy, arrested the lot involved, and now you're drinking because you didn't get to fight them?"

"We're _not_ drinking," Cana muttered, but Freed interrupted frostily.

"Laxus -_sama_ simply walked away when Doranbolt ordered him to stand down. He had the opportunity to show the world that messing with Fairy Tail was a bad thing, but he walked away."

"Whatever the hell you have going on against Laxus is your issue. I'm going to make sure that Lucy's okay," Grey said, turning to leave the guild hall. "Erza, are you coming with me?"

"Grey, I don't know…"

Pinning the requip mage with a glare, he snarled. "Will someone please come up with a good reason for me _not_ to go make sure that the guild member who nearly died twice is okay? If not, will somebody point me in the right direction to Laxus's house?"

The group at the bar exchanged glances. Cobra was the first one to speak. "I'll show you the way. Lucy's never been a problem for Crime Sorciere. I don't know what the big deal is about her and you guys. Kid, you want to make sure she's healing all right?"

Wendy nodded fervently. "I was able to heal her wrists immediately, but I just want to make sure there isn't an issue."

"Freed, you should go too," a voice from the second floor made all heads turn upwards. Evergreen was standing at the railing, looking at her hungover teammate.

"I refuse to speak with him," the rune mage spat.

"Well suck it up," she said bluntly. "You know as well as I do that even though we can run the guild just fine, he's the guild master for better or for worse. Tell him to stop slacking off and get to the guild. We're done running it for him. Fairy Tail needs its master."

"Why don't you go then?" Freed said, running a hand through his rumpled hair.

"Because you look like hell, and I'm willing to bet that you smell more like alcohol than Cana ever has. If those particular changes don't get a response from him, your general bad attitude will." Ever retorted. "Now go, or I'll tell Bix that you wanted him to take you shopping for new clothes so you could change your look."

Freed paled. "Fine, but you have to deal with him once he's back. I refuse."

"Whatever," Ever said, turning back towards the hallway that had once led to Makarov's office. Grey looked around. "So, is anyone else coming, or is it just the five of us."

"Erza, you and Levy might want to go too." Mira said, voice flat. "Erza, you might be needed depending on how upset they are at the moment. And Levy…you and Freed are about the only people who got the full brunt of Lucy, so you can explain it."

Shaking his head at Mira's cryptic words, Grey walked towards the guild doors. _I don't know what the hell is going on here, or why everyone's acting like this, but at least I'll be able to check on Lucy._

*****So, sober Cana and hungover Freed? I nearly died laughing at that one when I wrote it. Oh, and Grey and Juvia are back! That was one thing that Beta and I were in full agreement over. Those two needed to come back, and now! Hmmm, other than that there isn't too much to say about this chapter. Plot bunnies are beating me over the head with a two by four about the sequel, and I've decided to indulge them before I lose them. I get a bit of time to work on the CoLu as well...That's about it!*****


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five:**

When they reached the porch of the small house in the clearing, Levy turned to Grey and the others. "Freed, you and Wendy know this, but the rest of you listen up. Lucy is not the same Lucy you knew before Tartarus. She will say things that will hurt you. She may even throw things at you. I know you're not going to believe me right now, but I want you to have enough warning. Since she specifically asked that no members of Team Natsu were allowed to visit, I would guess that she will be even angrier than usual when she sees you. Doranbolt said that Laxus gave orders to stay away because of Lucy, so I would guess that whatever progress she made is gone and she may even be worse."

Before anyone could ask questions, she turned and knocked loudly on the door. "Everything still the same in there?" she asked Cobra as they waited. Grey was still getting used to the idea that the poison dragon slayer was on the same side as him. On the walk over, Erza had told him that Crime Sorciere had recruited the old Oracian Seis members and then been adopted into Fairy Tail.

"Both of them are there. Nobody's moving towards us though." The dragon slayer leaned casually against the wall. "I'm not your watchdog though."

"No, you're my early warning system. The method of our impending doom depends on who comes to the door," Levy said absently as she pounded on the door again. "Let me know the minute we get a change."

"Someone's moving towards us," Cobra said dully. "It's her."

"Well then, time to see how bad things are," Levy sighed. "I don't know if she has her keys or not, so be prepared for anything. Even if she doesn't have her keys, she might throw something."

Grey raised his eyebrow, but adjusted his stance anyway. Being away from the guild had taught him the necessity of being prepared for anything. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Juvia step slightly in front of Wendy, ready to shield the girl if necessary. Erza requipped a shield into one hand, a small sword in the other.

The door was flung open, and a very angry Lucy stood in front of them. Grey noticed in surprise that she was wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt, despite the warm weather. As she reached out to brace herself against the doorway, he saw Wendy stiffen slightly.

"I thought you were told to stay away," Lucy snapped, her voice cold. "I don't want to see anyone from the guild."

"We've come to see Laxus-_sama_," Freed said sullenly. "And Cobra mentioned that you guys hadn't seen anyone for days."

"He's asleep," Lucy said grouchily. "We had a big argument last night about my keys and he's sleeping still. And I don't need your help, any of you. Just stay the hell away from me."

"Lucy-san, your wrists look as if they've healed nicely." Wendy said quietly, but Lucy stiffened. "Almost as if they haven't been cut. Or if this is an old copy of Gemini?"

Surprise passed over Lucy's face, and then she disappeared in a brief flash. Cobra turned to Wendy, surprise on her face. "I've seen Angel pull stunts like that with Gemini, and nobody's ever figured it out. Good job kid."

"The scars gave it away," Wendy said shyly, over the distant shriek from inside the house. "It's only been a week. Even with my help, the scars should still be noticeable. When I didn't see them, I knew that it wasn't Lucy, since she didn't smell like make-up either."

"Why would Lucy smell like make-up?" Grey asked, following Levy as she moved foreward into the house.

"Her scars," Wendy began, but Levy cursed in front of them.

"Shit, if she has Gemini, she's got her keys!" Her voice held a trace of panic, and she rushed forward, with the rest of the group following her.

When they reached the living room, Levy moved towards a small hallway, but was stopped by two golden flashes. Grey recognized Virgo and his old partner immediately.

Beside him, Freed paled. "Oh Mavis, she wasn't supposed to get his key," he whispered, and Grey saw Levy and Wendy looked just as pale.

"Loke, let me see her," Levy pleaded, trying to move past, but Virgo gripped her by her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Levy, but Lucy doesn't want to see anyone right now," Loke said gently. "Come back another time."

"Let us through Leo," Freed said coldly, moving towards them. "Especially since we've seen you, we need to make sure that she's okay."

Emotions cycled through Loke's face too fast for Grey to catch, but the lion remained where he was. "I am sorry Freed, but I will not disobey my master's orders."

Before Freed could do anything, Grey stepped forward. "Hey, I don't know what's going on, but I want to talk with her. Loke, can I go see her?"

His old partner studied him, and Grey held his breath, not knowing what was going on behind the lion's eyes. Finally, he said: "You and Juvia may go back. Everyone else stays here. And I make no guarantees that she'll want to see you. Her room's on the left."

Moving quickly, Grey and Juvia slipped through the tiny gap that the spirits made for them and hurried down the hall. Reaching the door Loke had told them about, Grey exchanged looks with the rainwoman and knocked carefully.

"Go away!" Lucy shrieked from inside. "I don't want to see you Levy!" Something heavy hit the wall next to the door, and Grey flinched. _So this is what Levy was talking about_.

"It's not Levy," he said, and was rewarded with silence. "Juvia and I are coming in."

"No!" she shrieked, but he was already opening the door.

Lucy stood in the middle of the room, wearing shorts and a sports bra. Standing in the doorway, he stared at her, now understanding what Wendy had meant when she mentioned scars. They covered her body, and from the looks of some of them, they extended even under her clothes. A familiar looking tattoo was inked across her collarbone, and Grey struggled to place it. Movement behind him made him snap out of his trance, and he remembered where he had seen the tattoo before.

"Juvia," he said quietly. "Go back and tell the others that she's okay. Tell them not to come back; Lucy and I are going to talk for a while. Put them in a water lock if they fight too much."

Footsteps moving away from him, along with the brief touch she left on his arm, told him that she was leaving, and Grey refocused on his teammate, still standing in front of him. "So Lucy, I'm back."

"I can see that," she spat, recovering. "Nice of you to drop in. Come to gawk?" Moving, she rummaged through the dresser nearby, pulling out a long sleeved shirt and a pair of leggings before reaching into the closet for a skirt.

"Just came to see how my friend's doing," he said, turning his back slightly. "Let me know when I can turn around."

"You can leave," she said, but he could hear her changing. "I don't want to talk to you either."

"I could talk then," he said calmly. "However, I do have a few things that I'm curious about. Mainly Aquarius's tattoo. Is it new?"

"Turn around," she growled, and he obeyed, seeing her in the new outfit, and much closer. "You can leave now. I don't want to hear about your adventures. So go back and tell the others that I don't want to see anyone until I decide that I'm ready."

"Lucy, I just want to talk to you," he began, but she cut him off.

"You don't have a right to ask me about anything, Grey Fullbuster. While you have had a wonderfully exciting year, jaunting around the kingdom with your girlfriend, I have been dealing with several things, none of them pleasant. You abandoned Fairy Tail, so it takes more effort than just returning to make things right. Go find Natsu and see if he'll take you back. The two of you are the same, disappearing when it's convenient for you. I'm tired of you always coming and going, just like your clothes."

"Well that's interesting," A voice from outside the window made Lucy spin, wobbling slightly. Cobra was leaning in, grinning. "I was wondering about something, and now I've figured it out. You're lying to him Lucy, although I wouldn't know it by your act. So this is what scared everyone off. I assume you said something as nasty to Kinana which made her dump the water on you."

Grey looked back at Lucy. Her tirade had startled him, but Cobra's words startled him even more.

Glaring at the dragon slayer, Lucy said: "You know, I think I told you once to stay out of my head."

"You might have," Cobra said lazily, adjusting himself into a more comfortable position. "However, the contradiction between your thoughts and your behavior is more interesting than your threats that were supposed to keep me out of your head."

"I'm plenty pissed right now," Lucy growled, but he flapped his hand at her.

"Oh, I know you're pissed at him, don't worry. But you're not angry that the rest of them are here, you're afraid. I wonder what you don't want them to know about…"

"Stay out of my head!" she shrieked, reaching for a ball on her floor and throwing at him.

Cobra caught it easily, but his grin faded. "So that's what's going on," he muttered, a serious expression replacing his previous playfulness. "Sorry Lucy, but you're in trouble. They didn't just come here because of you. Ever gave Freed specific orders about that."

"Damn," Lucy breathed, panic flashing across her face. "What can I do to keep you from telling the others about it?"

"I'm not going to tell," Cobra said quietly. "I've been there too, and I see what you're trying to do. Clears up what was going on in Doranbolt's head too."

The two of them were quiet for a moment, staring at each other, and Grey wanted to demand to know what was going on, but something kept him from asking.

Finally, Cobra nodded. "I can do that. Let me through the window? The kid might realize that I was back here, but she probably won't ask if she does. I'll do my best, but don't blame me if I get fried."

"Thanks Cobra," Lucy said softly. "I was hoping for a bit more time before this happened. It's only gotten worse lately, so I know it's too soon…"

"I'll let Jellal know, and see if there's something he can do. He pulled his own head out…"

Grey was amazed at the look the two mages were sharing. It was if they had known each other for ages, to the point where they could read each other's mind. Sliding the window up, Cobra slipped inside and quietly made his way to the door. "Let me through, icicle," he muttered, and Grey had no choice but to step aside as the man moved past him into the hallway.

"Fullbuster," Lucy said, and he snapped back to reality. She was pulling her hair up, and he saw with a start that she was struggling with the tie. Reaching out to help her, he found his hands being swatted away.

"I didn't get your attention because I needed your help," she snapped, managing to pull her hair into a ponytail, albeit a clumsy one. "I am _very_ angry with you, but right now that has to wait because I have bigger problems. So you are going to head out and tell the others that I _absolutely_ do not want to talk to anyone right now and they need to turn around and get back to the guild. Laxus will let them know when I am in a better mood and can deal with you."

"Where is he, anyway?" Grey asked. "And before I go, I want to know why you have Aquarius's tattoo."

"Didn't Gemini tell you?" Lucy said, slipping her feet into a pair of clogs. "He's asleep. We had an argument last night."

"I don't believe you," Grey said flatly. "You and Cobra seem to have a secret you don't want the others knowing about. If I was reading between the lines of that conversation, it has to do with Laxus, because that's the reason Freed came. And Freed wouldn't have come, since he's hungover and looks like crap. So something is wrong here, and I won't do anything until I know why you have Aquarius's tattoo and why you're trying to keep everyone away from Laxus."

Shocked, Lucy set down her keys. "Freed's _hungover_?" she whispered, and Grey saw something flicker across her face.

"When I returned to the guild this morning, Freed was hungover, Cana was sober, and Mira was seconds away at going demon on everyone." Grey stated. "From what I gathered, it had to do with you or Laxus."

"_Shit_," Lucy said, and she snatched up her keys. "If they're all in that mood, this is not going to be good. Cobra, if you hear me or my thoughts right now and are still in the house, do everything you can. It's worse than I thought."

"Lucy, I want answers now, okay? Stop for a minute and explain something. Why Aquarius's tattoo? What's up with Laxus?" Grey stepped further into the room and shut the door.

"Why are you so fixated on a damn tattoo?" she snarled, seizing a pile of papers from her desk. "I just wanted it, okay?"

"That tattoo shouldn't be as pristine as it is Lucy," Grey said quietly. "I saw your scars, and some of them should go right through it, but it's undamaged. Even if you got the tattoo recently, it should at least show some of the marks, because the scarring is pretty bad in some places. The only way it could be as perfect as it is…someone used magic to apply it, and the only time I've seen that happen is when Cana got the Fairy Glitter mark temporarily, or someone was cursed."

"The tattoo isn't my curse," she said quietly, fingering her keys. Grey watched as she rested briefly on one, and he realized that it was broken. "Guilt is. The tattoo is just a reminder."

"Lucy, did something happen to Aquarius?" he whispered, not wanting it to be true. Loke had told him about how far Lucy had gone to save him. He had seen it himself when she fought with her spirits, felt her rage at how they were injured…if one of her keys had been broken…

"Yes Grey, the broken key is hers," Lucy said quietly. "I am not going to tell you what happened though, because Loke says that the others are getting restless and I don't have time to deal with whatever shit you think you need to say to me right now. There are things going on right now that you don't understand, and will never understand, so you need to step out of my way and let me do what needs to be done."

"If you're talking about guilt, I understand _guilt_," he hissed, hand flying to his forearm, for once covered with clothes. "Tartarus isn't easily forgotten. That's why I left."

"You think that this is just about being stronger?" she snapped. "We were all _weak_ that day Grey! Every single one of us. And that's why you all left. Try again, or get out of my way."

"People _died_ that day, Lucy. And some of it was my fault. That's _guilt_." Grey felt the burning in his chest again, a burning that Natsu's flames never felt like…he felt the urge to strip, but fought it. It was one of the ways he had changed himself over the year, mainly for Juvia's sake, although he still struggled when his emotions were running high.

"I know that people _died_, and I know how it feels to be the reason why. So stop lecturing me about guilt and move out of my way before I blast you." Lucy's voice had dropped to a hiss, and Grey half expected her to reach for one of the keys that she had placed on her belt, but she instead furrowed her brow in concentration.

"Laxus will kill you if you decimate his house," Grey warned, dropping into his own stance instinctively.

"No he won't," Lucy muttered, and something cracked somewhere in the house. "And besides, it's just a bit of plumbing. Virgo will help me fix it later."

_Plumbing?_ Grey thought, but he was blasted aside by a small orb of water. Taken by surprise, he flew into her desk and sat there dazedly. _Since when did she have water magic?_

"Sorry Grey, but I had to do it," she said, moving clumsily towards the door. "I warned you though."

Scrambling to his feet, Grey called out: "Juvia, I need you now!" Of the mages in the front room, only Juvia could deal with Lucy if it came to water magic, other than himself of course, but his magic wasn't always the most stable now, and he didn't want to risk seriously hurting Lucy.

He heard her arguing with Loke and Virgo, but she managed to squeeze past them and join him in the hallway. A clamor arose behind her, but he didn't care.

"Did Lucy pass you?" he asked as she joined him.

"No, Juvia was with the others from the guild. What do you need me for? Grey, you're wet!"

He brushed off her concern. "Lucy's picked up water magic somehow. I need your help countering it. She's probably in here, if she didn't pass you."

Reaching out for the door knob, he signaled to Juvia that he would wait until the count of three to open it, and that she should go first, in case Lucy tried attacking again. When she nodded, he mentally counted off, and then threw the door open, stepping aside as he did.

Juvia stepped forward, and he heard Lucy yell at her to stay back. As he joined his partner, he found himself in a dimly lit room with all of the curtains drawn. The smell of stale alcohol and a musk that Grey vaguely associated with being stuck in a small space with a number of Fairy Tail men after a long mission without access to showers was strong, but Lucy stood in the middle, keys outstretched.

"Careful, Juvia doesn't know which one she will use. If it's Aquarius, Juvia cannot help."

"Aquarius's key is broken," Grey muttered, watching Lucy twist the key. "And Loke and Virgo are already out. She can't have too much magic right now."

"Cancer! Go help Cobra, if he's with Laxus. You'll see what I mean," Lucy called, and Grey watched with surprise as the spirit appeared and hurried into a side room. Facing the two mages, the woman glared at them.

"I thought I told you to go back to the others and get out, not bring Juvia here."

Grey frowned. "Not going to happen Lucy, I told you that. Now, where is Laxus?" As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he saw that they were in a bedroom, one that looked more lived in than Lucy's room had been. It could only be Laxus's, but the number of empty bottles in the corner next to an armchair made it seem more like Cana's room.

"In the bathroom. I told you guys he was sleeping, and since you're insisting on waking him up, he wanted a shower first to wake up."

Juvia shook her head. "Juvia does not hear water running Lucy-san. Laxus-san cannot be showering without water."

"Just get out of here!" Lucy shouted, seizing a bottle from the floor and throwing it at the wall. "I don't want to see any of you! Go away!"

Grey heard raised voices and running feet in the hall and knew that the others had heard the commotion and finally overcome Lucy's spirits. Freed was the first on the scene, blatant _fear_ on his face as he looked at Lucy.

"Lucy-sama, are you all right? We heard something breaking. Wendy's here if you need medical attention…" He stopped when he saw the state of the room they were standing in. Eyes narrowed, he said: "Where is Laxus-_sama_?"

"Will all of you stop the damn yelling?" a voice growled from the doorway Cancer had disappeared into. Turning, Grey saw Laxus standing there, leaning against the doorway. "I have a headache. And none of you are supposed to be here right now."

"We came to check on Lucy-san, Laxus-sama," Wendy murmured, and Grey saw the girl shiver in fright. But when he looked at the man, he realized that something was off. It was impossible to put his finger on it, but this wasn't the same Laxus he remembered.

"Blondie can take care of herself, especially when she's pissed at you," Laxus growled. "Can't you see that she has her keys?"

Wendy's eyes narrowed, and she scented the air. "Laxus-san, your scent doesn't match the scent in your room. And if you have a headache, I should take a look at it."

"I'm fine kid," Laxus growled. "And if I smell funny, it's because I used a new shampoo. Just got out of the shower."

"You don't smell like the shower," Wendy said, looking at Lucy. "It's Gemini again, isn't it?"

"Damn it," Lucy swore under her breath and moved across the room to stand in front of the door that Laxus had been occupying before he disappeared in a now familiar flash. "Everyone just get out and go back to the guild. Laxus will call you when he's awake."

"If he's asleep, how did he get to the bathroom?" Freed asked suspiciously. "You haven't recovered enough to move him yourself."

"Cobra's in there," Wendy volunteered. "He came in through Lucy's room, if I was listening right. I can't tell what they're talking about though."

"Lucy," Erza pushed her way forward. "I wish you would just talk to us about whatever's going on. We're all your nakama."

"Sure," she spat, and Grey saw fury in her eyes. "You're all my nakama until you have to leave. Then it doesn't matter what the hell happens to anyone else, as long as you get the results you want."

"Lucy, whatever you need to say, you can say it later. Right now, I need to talk with Laxus-sama about guild business." Freed moved to stand in front of her. "Move, or I will be forced to restrain you."

"Freed, you wouldn't dare," she hissed, hands on her keys, but Freed drew his sword.

"I do what I must for the guild, and for my nakama. Right now, I don't trust you not to hurt anyone, even yourself, so I will do what I have to."

Shoulders slumped, Lucy moved aside. "Cobra? Bring him out. I can't stop them any more."

*****Sorry about this being a bit late; I couldn't post earlier in the morning. Well, here it is, the Grey-Erza-Lucy confrontation round one! Things are far from settled between them, so they'll hash out some more things later. Don't be alarmed if people are acting a bit weird for the next few chapters (including last chapter). Emotions are running high for everyone right now. Except Cobra. He just doesn't care that much. Fairy Tail's angry because they didn't get to fight. Laxus is guilty. Lucy's desperately trying to help. That's it for today though. Nothing too crazy.*****


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six:**

Lucy did her best to hide her nervousness as the two dragon slayers appeared. She didn't know what state Cobra had found Laxus in, or how the man had reacted when Cobra appeared, but if the last week was any indication, this was _not_ going to go well.

When the lightning dragon slayer appeared, her heart sunk. Even though Cancer had been able to shave the stubble off his face, it was still painfully obvious that he hadn't been taking care of himself, and that the shave was recent. She could smell the alcohol on him, and wondered if he had realized that if he had drunk the last bit that she had found in his study, they were out of alcohol. Last night, when she had found it, she hadn't been sure whether or not it was a good thing, but with Freed standing in front of them, likely determined to bring Laxus back to the guild, at least for a little bit, it was looking like a good thing.

She heard Wendy and several others gasp as they looked at him, and mentally sighed. _This was a bad idea. He's not ready for this yet._

"Laxus-sama," Freed said stiffly, looking at the man who was now sitting in the armchair next to the pile of discarded alcohol bottles. "The guild needs you to come back and resume your duties."

"Go away Freed," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "You've been doing just fine without me. I don't see what's changed."

"Ever says that she's sick and tired of you dumping all the work on us," Freed said coldly. "You wanted to be guild master so badly during Fantasia, now you just decide to ignore the responsibilities? Perhaps you weren't the best man for the job after all."

"I'm not," Laxus slurred, reaching for one of the bottles. "Find someone else. You would be able to do the job. Or Jellal; he's led a guild before."

"It doesn't work like that," Freed said sternly. "You don't get to abandon this because you think it's too much work. However poor your efforts are, you are still required to put in the effort. So I expect you to come to the guild and at least act like our master."

"Nope," Laxus said, finding the bottle he grabbed empty. "Turns out I'm not the type to be master. You'll have to look somewhere else. Fairy Tail deserves a good master."

"We do," Freed said coldly, wrenching the bottle from Laxus's grasp. "But we're stuck with you now, so I'm here to drag you back. So you better sober up." Raising the bottle, he smashed it on Laxus's head, but the slayer didn't even respond. Putting herself in between them, Lucy looked at Freed.

"You can have him from nine in the morning until five at night, starting tomorrow morning. I'll make sure that he gets to the guild on time and sober, and I'll pick him up in the evening. After five, nobody comes to the house. Nobody calls, nothing. If you do call, the guild better be on fire, or Doranbolt should be there to arrest someone. And while he's at the guild, you let him do what he wants, as long as he gets his work done. Leave him alone, as long as he's sober."

Laxus grunted. "Blondie, I'm not going to the guild."

Freed ignored him and looked at her. "Why make these demands Lucy-sama?" he asked quietly. "He is the reason you're injured."

"That's my bone to pick with him Freed," she snapped. "And I make the demands because I would rather have him _not_ grouching at me about you all day. So I'm doing this for myself. Take it or leave it; your choice."

Studying her for another minute, Freed said: "Someone stays with you while he's gone."

"I'm capable of walking and doing ninety-nine percent of tasks," Lucy hissed. "I don't need to be babysat."

"You were attacked the last time you were left alone, and might have died if Cobra hadn't smelled the blood," Freed pointed out.

"I have my keys now," she said, pointing to her belt. "I'm capable of my own defense."

"They're who I'm worried about," the rune mage muttered, glancing nastily at the jingling keys.

Lucy caught the insinuation and scowled. "If you insist, but I get to pick. From any member of Fairy Tail."

"If you pick members of Crime Sorciere, they need to come with you to the guild in the morning, and be there when you pick up Laxus at night." Freed retorted.

"Fine," Lucy snapped. "Now will all of you get out of his house and leave him alone? Except you Cobra, I'm going to need your help."

Erza stepped forward. "Lucy, can we talk?"

Shaking her head, Lucy moved to the door, holding it open. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I'll tell people things when I'm ready, not a moment before. For now, I want you to just go."

The small group filed out, and Lucy followed them to the door to make sure they left. Once she had closed and locked the door, she returned to Laxus's room, summoning Cancer.

"You called, Miss Lucy?" he said, looking around the room. "Was my work inadequate?"

"Your work was fine, thank you for your help. However, he needs more than just a shave. Can you help Cobra get him cleaned up? I would ask Virgo, but I need her help fixing some plumbing in my own bathroom."

"Wait a minute, blondie," Cobra said, shaking his hands. "I am _not_ cleaning that guy up."

"I don't need anyone's help," Laxus chipped in from the chair, but Lucy ignored him.

"You won't be doing the work," she said. "He's awake and grown up. If he can't shower himself, we've got bigger problems. Cancer's here to fix the details. You're there to be the muscle. Haul his butt into the shower and turn the water on if he won't cooperate himself. And if he makes you do that, make sure the water's _cold_."

Laxus glared at her. "Who told you to butt into my life?" he growled.

"You brought me here," she snapped at him. "Just remember that I did my best to limit what Freed would have you doing to eight hours of routine guild work, not the extra stuff. If you're so insistent on me not helping you, I'll call him back and tell him that he can have you whenever he wants for whatever needs doing. See how fast that gets old."

Turning to leave the room, she looked over her shoulder at the men and spirit remaining. "Remember, get him showered and presentable. I'll work on fixing the hangover. Laxus, if you refuse to cooperate, you're getting a cold shower and an ugly haircut."

Out in the hallway, she summoned Virgo. "I know my magic level's getting low, so I won't keep you for too long. Can you fix the plumbing in my bathroom? I might have broken some of it earlier."

"Of course Princess. Would you like me to dismiss myself when I am finished?"

"That would help, thank you Virgo. That's all for now. Oh, and when you return, thank Loke for me?"

"As you wish, Princess."

Leaving Virgo to deal with what she hoped was just a cracked pipe, Lucy headed for the kitchen. The only way she knew how to deal with a hangover was black coffee and food. Knowing Laxus's appetite, she had better start early on the food if she wanted to have enough for him to eat when he was done showering.

* * *

When Laxus and Cobra appeared, Lucy had just finished making the last of the pancakes and had put them on the island with the sausage she had made. Putting two plates down, she placed a mug of black coffee in front of Laxus and turned to Cobra. "There's enough for you too. I know it's lunch time, but it's easier to make a lot of pancakes quickly. What do you want for a drink?"

"Something hazardous," he said, reaching for a pancake. "Do you have any cleaning products?"

Lucy sighed. _Dragon slayers and their peculiar tastes_. "Yeah, I've got some bleach that he bought for something, but it's sitting unopened in the laundry room. Do you want it in a glass, or do you just drink it from the bottle?"

"It's probably a big bottle, isn't it?" Cobra said, chuckling as he read the picture in her mind. "Just bring it here and hand me a glass. I'll probably drink at least half of it, so it's not worth putting away."

Grumbling about the particularity of dragon slayers, she fetched the bottle and set it on the counter next to him as he and Laxus quarreled over Cobra using one of the cups to drink the bleach from. Placing a glass in front of Cobra, she turned to Laxus, arms akimbo, as she said: "It's perfectly safe; bleach is a cleaning agent. However, if you're so worried, I'll put a hazard symbol on it, and it will be his cup for the rest of eternity."

Laxus scowled as Cobra opened the bleach and poured some into the glass. "Can't he just drink it out of the bottle?"

"Sure," Lucy said conversationally. "And you and I will just take turns drinking out of the milk or juice carton. Because that's done be civilized people. Honestly, the two of you weren't brought up by dragons, so act like human beings."

"Yes _Mom_," Cobra muttered, and Lucy swiped at him with her hand.

"Thank heavens I _wasn't_ given the misfortune of being your mother," she muttered, turning to clean up the mess she had made while cooking. "I honestly don't know what Kinana sees in you."

"At least she sees something," Cobra said quietly, before turning back to his pancakes. "Hey, blondie, what kind of shape is this supposed to be?"

"Shut it, bleach breath," she snapped, feeling herself blush. "My control isn't great, so they came out a bit weird. If you wanted perfect circles, you should have made them yourself."

"Will the two of you stop bickering," Laxus snapped, slamming his coffee mug down on the floor. "This is my house and I'm tired of being treated like a child."

He got up and moved towards one of the kitchen cabinets, but Lucy said: "You're out of alcohol, unless there's any left in your room. What was in your study last night was the last of it. And we won't be buying more for a while if all you're going to do is drink yourself into a stupor."

"The hell we won't," Laxus growled as he sat back down, but Lucy ignored him.

"Listen, I know that you'd rather sit in your dark room and drink yourself into a fog and forget about everything going on inside your head, but Freed and the rest aren't going to let you do that. This wasn't my idea, so don't take it out on me. I tried to buy you time when I told Doranbolt that I didn't want to see anyone, but Grey screwed that plan up and you no longer have the luxury of free time. So tomorrow you're going to go to the guild and pretend like you're a functioning human being for them. When you're not there, I don't give a damn what you do to forget things, but I can't let you drink or Freed will be on your case again."

"Why do you care?" he growled at her, but she remained unfazed as she kept washing dishes.

"If they start harassing you here, they end up harassing me as well, and I don't want to see them right now," she said simply. "And secondly, I don't know what you're dealing with right now, but I do know that you need your space and time to work through it, just like I do. So I'm doing what I can to give you that, just like you tried your best with me. Don't give me attitude though, because I'm still pissed at you. However, I'm not pissed enough that I'm going to just let you suffer. If you keep acting like this, everything that I went through for Fairy Tail was worthless, so if what happened to me is part of whatever's got you so messed up right now, I suggest you think on that for a bit."

"How about just leaving me alone?" Laxus muttered. "I can manage my own affairs."

"You've done so well," Lucy muttered, and she heard Cobra snickering.

"Nobody died," Laxus grumbled into his plate.

"We'll see. When I clean your room later, I might find a decomposing corpse that will explain the smell."

"Blondie, I don't do cleaning," the two men chimed in unison, and Lucy turned around to see them glaring at each other.

With a sigh, she leaned against the counter and said: "Two things. Number one, Cobra. Meredy says that _you're_ the neat freak at camp, always yelling at people for leaving clothes behind. Two. Laxus, this house has been nearly spotless in the common areas since I first arrived, and until this past week, I was barely doing anything to keep it that way. So, yeah, _sure_, you guys don't clean. I wasn't going to ask either of you to help anyway."

Laxus glared at her. "You stay out of my room," he snapped irritably. "If I had a problem with it, I would deal with it."

"You don't have that luxury," she hissed. "It's to the point where it bothers me. Finish your food while I go get a head start."

"And I suppose you want me to do the dishes?" he muttered as she dried her hands after emptying the sink.

"I don't care _what_ you do, as long as you stay in the house. Cobra, that's what you're here for. You can call someone else here if you want, but he has to stay inside the house. No heading to anywhere that he can buy alcohol."

"I'm not a babysitter."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"Honestly," Lucy sighed, grabbing a box of garbage bags and heading for Laxus's room. "You two sound like Natsu and Grey. By all means, brawl away. But if you break something, so help me I will make you wish you were fighting Tartarus again."

Leaving them to their squabbling, ignoring the indignant bellows coming from behind her, Lucy marched towards Laxus's room. _First thing: open the windows and get some air and light in here_.

Drawing the curtains back, she sighed with relief when she felt the sunlight on her skin and rushed to open the window. For all her cracks about decomposing corpses, it didn't actually smell _that_ bad…just stale alcohol and unwashed dragon slayer. The room would air out in no time. She did wonder if the scent bothered Laxus more though, given his better senses. Perhaps that was why he normally kept the house spotless…?

With the sun and breeze coming in, Lucy turned to the pile of alcohol bottles next to his chair. Rummaging around, she found Laxus's garbage can and started dropping them in one by one, trying not to break any. She didn't know how Laxus dealt with trash removal, but if worst came to worst, she could always bring it to the guild with her when she dropped Laxus off…

Four hours, two loads of laundry, several garbage bags, and a fair bit of elbow grease later, Lucy had Laxus's room cleaned to her satisfaction. The dragon slayers hadn't come near her, and she was glad that she didn't have to listen to their grumbling.

As she went back to the laundry room to grab the last load from the dryer, Lucy could feel the fatigue weighing her limbs down. It was familiar now, and she knew that she didn't have much more time left before her legs and arms gave out and demanded a rest. She would have called Virgo or Aries out to chat with and help with the work, but having Gemini, Virgo, and Cancer out earlier had drained away most of her magical reserves. Lucy _hated_ the fact that her injuries and forced recuperation had taken such a toll on her stamina and magical power. Just having to _rest_ after her relatively non-eventful day was a frustrating concept. Wendy assured her that it would take just a little bit more time, and reminded her to keep taking care of herself.

According to the sky dragon slayer, her condition was worsened by the fact that before her injuries, Lucy wasn't in the best of health. The blonde knew that she hadn't been eating enough, sleeping enough…resting between missions, but it was what she had to do in order to make everything work out. Wendy explained, sometime back when she had first woken up, that her body was choosing _now_ to make up for the missed rest and food, so she needed to be patient and not rush recovery again. Lucy tried her best, but it was just so damn _frustrating_.

When she reached down to grab the laundry basket, her legs finally gave out. With a snarl, Lucy lowered herself down to the ground beside the basket and reached for the shirt on the top. From experience, she knew it would take a while before she could move again, so she might as well make herself useful while she was here.

Half an hour later, the load of laundry was folded, and her legs still weren't cooperating. Cursing under her breath, Lucy grabbed the basket with one hand and started crawling across the room. Thankfully neither man had come to check on her, so she felt no shame in the movement. Lucy knew that most people would die rather than crawl like she was doing, but she refused to simply wait to be rescued or for her legs to cooperate. As long as she could still move, she would keep on moving.

It took forever, but she eventually found herself at Laxus's bedroom doorway, sweaty and trembling. Biting her lip to keep from releasing a groan as her arm muscles protested further movement, she dragged herself inside and allowed herself a rest. Leaning against his dresser, she wondered idly how she would manage dinner for two dragon slayers. Hopefully she would regain use of her legs again soon, or else she would be in trouble.

"Blondie, are you okay?"

Jerking towards the doorway, Lucy overbalanced and fell, a slight cry slipping from her lips as she slammed into the floor. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she tried to keep the tears from squeezing out. She felt so useless.

"Hey Blondie, are you okay?" Footsteps stopped next to her, and someone was gently rolling her onto her back. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Cobra kneeling next to her.

"Blondie? Say something." When she didn't respond, fighting to keep her breath steady, his expression shifted from _slightly worried_ to _downright panicked_. As he called out for Laxus, Lucy realized how much he looked like Natsu when he was like that.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Laxus appeared in the doorway, shaken out of his previous hungover stupor. As he knelt next to her, she saw him take in her disheveled appearance and his face froze.

Cobra glared at him. "Go call the kid."

"No," she hissed, blinking away the tears that sprung to her eyes. "Don't call her out here."

"You're hurt Lucy," Laxus said distantly, eyes empty. "She should look at you and make sure nothing's wrong."

"What happened Laxus?" Lucy said shakily, fighting to force herself to sit up. "I thought you didn't want anyone from the guild here."

He came out of his stupor and glared. "You stay put until Wendy can check you out. And when it comes to you, I would do anything to make up for what I've already done." Guilt laced his voice, but underneath it all was loathing.

"Don't drag her all the way out here just because I was an idiot," Lucy hissed, summoning the strength to hold herself upright. "I overdid it like she keeps telling me I shouldn't and this is what happens."

"Is that the scraping we heard?" Cobra asked, eyeing the laundry basket. "Did you drag that from somewhere?"

"Lucy, did your legs give out when you went to get the laundry?" Laxus asked, and Lucy could see the guilt rising in his eyes as he realized what she had done. "You could have called, and one of us would have come. And you didn't have to clean my room. I would have gotten to it…"

She could see him starting to spiral further into the guilt and self-loathing that had driven him to alcohol over the past week. Glaring at him, Lucy tried to push herself up, but she wobbled and collapsed. Both men reached out to prop her up.

"You're in no condition to do anything," Cobra muttered. Looking at Laxus, he said: "If she's like this, she probably doesn't have enough magic to call out that maid of hers, or the chick would have been here before this. Do you want me to call the guild or the camp?"

"Not Wendy!" Lucy snapped, but Laxus simply had a dull look in his eyes.

"Why?"

Cobra rolled his eyes. "I've been on blondie-sitting duty a number of times, and not once have I ever seen her naked. At least one of the girls is around whenever she bathes, or you're helping her. Given that neither of you are thinking about the other naked, I'm guessing that you're not there yet."

Lucy spluttered, Laxus growled, and Cobra chuckled. "What's this about a sheet?"

Blushing, Lucy averted her eyes. "I needed help and there was nobody else around."

"It was just for her hair," Laxus muttered, looking away. "I still don't understand what any of this is supposed to mean."

The poison dragon slayer sighed. "Look at her. She's twitching and sweaty; not to mention that she smells like cleaning products and stale alcohol. While I for one find the scent of cleaning products comforting and slightly attractive, Meredy and Angel have informed me numerous times that the rest of you don't. I figure she'll protest too much if we dump her on the lawn and start dumping buckets of water over her head, so that means she has to bathe some other way. Which means we need a female. So, camp or guild hall?"

"Camp," Lucy said, with a glance at Laxus. "Tell everyone to come over. If someone makes dinner for all of us, we can have a movie night. While someone's cooking, I can bathe, and a movie means I don't have to move."

When Laxus looked as if he was going to protest, Lucy looked at him pleadingly. "You're going to have to deal with the guild tomorrow, so would you rather have a whole gang out here now? If you call Wendy, Freed and the others won't let her go without an escort, so that means you'll end up with at least Gajeel and Levy as well, or Lisanna, or…"

"Fine," he growled. "But I'm going to be in my study while they're here."

"You eat with the group," Lucy said sternly. "They're coming here to make you food; the least you can do is be polite."

He snarled at her instinctively, but caught himself and a look of deep shame crossed his face. "Fine," he muttered, leaving the room. Lucy heard him moving down the hall towards his study, and she sighed. At least he was talking now.

Cobra looked at her. "Is there something I should do?"

Sighing again, Lucy tested her ability to sit up straight. Confident that she could manage, she pointed towards the chair in the corner of the room. "Can you bring that over to the dresser and place it where I could put away the last of the laundry? And after that, can you make sure that Jellal and the others know what's going on?"

With a grunt, the dragon slayer moved the chair and helped her into it. Once he was satisfied that she wouldn't fall, he left the room. _Hopefully Laxus called Jellal and told him that they were invited over for dinner_.

By the time she had finished putting away the last of Laxus's clothes, Lucy was sweating again, and her hands were trembling. Leaning back into the chair, she wished that Wendy could heal this as well as she could heal wounds. Footsteps in the hallway signaled the arrival of a visitor, and she summoned the strength to sit up a little straighter.

It was Cobra, looking irritated. "He's locked himself in the damn study, and you can almost _taste_ the bad feelings emanating from the room. I know that things were bad between you two, but what the hell happened to make him like this?"

Lucy let her head lean against the back of the chair. "When he came back, he asked me to take up a contract that was being manipulated unfairly to try and force me into a situation where I would have to give up my keys to the mayor. I didn't mind taking it up again, because I thought Laxus would renegotiate it for me and make it so that the penalties weren't as devastating, but he didn't even _ask_. He had no idea what was in the thing until I was injured."

"Isn't the point of a guild to help each other? I'm sure the barmaid would have helped. Or some of the others." Cobra looked uncomfortable and confused. Lucy was sure that he didn't know that asking his question would lead to her spilling everything. Most of this was stuff she hadn't told _anyone_ yet, but here she was, spilling everything to Cobra.

"The contract was signed, and I couldn't have any help. They made sure to write that clause in. And I didn't want to complain. I was happy to help my guild in whatever way I could. What I resented…a lot of it had to do with being practically abandoned for a year. It was unfair of me, because I told them I would be okay, but I was angry with them for just disappearing. I didn't want to confide in them, and when they just took my simple explanations at face value, that made me even angrier. And all the time the jobs kept getting worse and worse, and I got to the point…back when the contract was first arranged, I had made a deal with my spirits that if at all possible, I would die before I broke the contract. There might be a situation where they had to _not_ help me and just let me die if it would keep me from breaking the contract…I had to invoke that when the guild found out about my injuries. If Laxus hadn't teleported himself to me in time, I would have bled out in the middle of the guild."

"When I came to, a week had passed, and _everyone_ knew. Have you ever seen pity in everyone's face? It's suffocating. And they treated me like I was a martyr, some hero, when in the end I failed. I should have lost my keys. From the timeline I understand, my contract was broken before Laxus settled it. At that point in time…part of me wasn't sure I wanted them to have interfered. Dying just sounded so much simpler than dealing with everyone's concern and pity. So I lashed out at everyone who tried to help. Laxus stayed away most of the time, but when he was there, I could see the guilt and shame on his face…some part of me was _happy_ about that. If I had to deal with everyone else and everything, he could suffer a bit too."

"How did you end up here then?" the poison dragon slayer had moved past confusion and now just looked deeply uncomfortable. "And why is he a mess now?"

"Wendy said I needed to get out of the guild, and he was the only one with room. I threw a fit over that, but everyone ignored me and moved me here. You also have to realize, most of the guild was pretty pissed at him for what happened. If you had surveyed them for the top name on their hit list, I think it would be a tie between Laxus and the mayor. So that only helped his mental state. Especially now that I was living with him, making him see the evidence of his mistake on an hourly basis. He was getting better though, after you guys joined and I started feeling like I had a chance at going back to some semblance of normal. And then, of course, the mayor had to try and kill me, and that sent him off the deep end."

"He held it together though up until Doranbolt left though," Cobra pointed out, leaning against the doorway. "All of us thought he looked sane then. His head was a bit of a mess though, but they all were very open in their belief that this attack was his fault."

Lucy laughed bitterly. "Nope, he was a wreck before that. Living with him for a month makes you good at reading the little cues. I think the attack was the only reason it took him three days before he broke down. Since he had a chance at fixing it, since he had something that he could _do_ to in some way make up for what had happened…when Doranbolt took that away, he took away the only thing keeping Laxus sane. As soon as we got back here, he raided the kitchen for alcohol and locked himself in his room. I saw him once, when Doranbolt came to tell him the results of the investigation, and then I didn't see him until today. What would have happened when he realized that we had no more alcohol, I don't know, but I don't think he would have tried to deal with the guilt yet. He's not ready for that."

Cobra shook his head. "I didn't think it was that…I figured the two of you were just pissed at each other. Guilt's nasty. Jellal's still dealing with it. His head's no picnic some days."

Lucy chuckled tiredly. "That's been established for the past two years. Ever since we got back from Tenrou Erza's been trying to get him to lighten up on the guilt trip and look at her the way she wants him to look at her."

Snickering, Cobra turned his head towards the open window. "They're just about here. Anything you want to say before we have guests?"

"Not really. Can you tell whoever ends up cooking that they can use whatever they want in the kitchen? Oh, and would you mind helping me across the hall to my room? It will make things go faster."

*****Lucy starts to open up to people! (Making Cobra significantly uncomfortable). And Laxus is dealing with guilt. Lots of guilt. The three of them will keep appearing for the next couple of chapters. It takes some time to deal with this guilt. We're almost done with the heavy stuff, although we have one more issue to deal with before we can go back to normal. Plus Natsu needs to come back, and that confrontation will be interesting. I've got it written now, but Beta had an awesome suggestion that's probably going to lead to the current ending getting scrapped and rewritten. **

**So far, the sequel is consuming my writing. Yesterday I wrote a really sad scene...honestly, it was painful. I wanted to cry.**

**Also, for those who read the manga, can I just express my pleasure at how Lucy has developed in this recent arc? She's just such a beautiful character both inside and out. I may consider incorporating some of the plot elements from the current canon into the sequel, because they fit with what I'm considering.*****


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:**

Meredy and Angel helped Lucy into the dining room where the other members of the Oracian Seis were finishing getting dinner on to the table. "Who cooked?" Lucy asked, looking at the covered dishes.

"Jellal and Racer," Hoteye said, placing the last plate. "We don't let Cobra cook for the group due to the fact that he tends to slip poison into the food without thinking."

"I don't do that!" the dragon slayer protested.

"Arsenic in pancakes," Meredy snapped. "Bleach in the soup. Need I continue?"

"Enough guys," Jellal said, bringing two pitchers in. "We're here to relax, not to fight."

"Someone want to go get Laxus?" Lucy said as she lowered herself into a chair. "He'll probably growl at you, so be prepared."

Angel and Meredy exchanged wry looks. "I'll do it," Meredy declared eventually. "He can't be any worse than Midnight when you wake him from his nap."

Three minutes later, Meredy returned, jaw clenched. "He's finishing a form," she said stiffly, dropping into her chair next to Lucy. "Give him a minute."

"Oh no I won't," Lucy muttered, standing up on wobbly legs. Around the table, people rose to assist her, but she waved them away. "I've got this guys."

Clinging desperately to the furniture and pressing herself against the wall, Lucy made her way into Laxus's study. Finding him slouched in his chair, ignoring the stack of paperwork on his desk only made her surlier.

"Get out of the chair before I get someone to come in here and drag you," she snapped. "I told you that you had to show up for dinner, but now you get to watch the movie too because you tried a stunt like this."

"You can't make me do anything," he said grouchily. "Now go away. I'll eat when I feel like it."

"Bull," Lucy said flatly. "You've barely been eating anything for the past week. It's about the only reason we still have food. Jellal and Racer came over to make you food, so you're going to eat it and pretend to be happy."

"Get the hell out of my life blondie," he growled. "Nobody asked you to butt in."

"Just like nobody asked you to butt into mine, but you did anyway. Consider it retribution. Now get out of that chair or so help me…"

"Blondie, you're only standing because of a conveniently placed side table," Laxus pointed out irritably. "I'd like to see you try to make good on that threat."

Growling, Lucy made her way over to him and dropped down into his lap. Not expecting that move, he flinched in surprise. Lucy could feel him twitch as she drew his head down so that she could whisper in his ear. "I bet if I screamed right now, your ears would hurt for hours. And just imagine what Meredy might do to you if she sees us right now? Between where I am and the fact that I screamed, she's going to think you tried to do something to me. Want to take a bet on how long it will take for her to have you out of the chair?"

With a growl, he pulled free of her grasp. "You even dare to _think_ about that again and I'll send you back to the guild without a second thought. Pull this shit with someone else."

"Get to the table or I'll scream," Lucy said coldly. "Your choice."

"Cobra's about to fall out of his chair laughing," Laxus informed her stiffly. "He's been keeping a running commentary for everyone in the dining room. Meredy knows that you're not being assaulted."

"Stupid dragon slayers," Lucy muttered. "Well then, plan B. I scream, and reach for Loke's key. Even though I'm tired, and he's starting to get a bit worn out, he'll act first and ask questions later. Good luck explaining to him."

"He's probably keeping an eye on you now," Laxus said bluntly. "They keep tabs on you when they're not out. Loke mentioned it the last time he threatened me."

"Damn it," Lucy swore quietly.

"You might as well forget about trying to implicate me for assault blondie," Laxus muttered. "Just get off and go eat your precious dinner. I can fend for myself."

"Not without you," Lucy snapped. "I know that you're dealing with your own shit right now, but I'm not going to sit around and watch you self-destruct. You didn't let me do that, so I'm not going to let you. Cobra, if you're listening, send someone in to haul this idiot to the table. He'll eat even if I have to force-feed him."

"Don't even try…" Laxus began, but the door swung open to reveal a grinning dragon slayer and Hoteye.

"I apologize Laxus, but Lucy's calling the shots tonight," Hoteye looked apologetic, but Cobra's smirk simply widened.

"Now blondie, get off the lightning kid and let Hoteye deal with him," Extending his arms, he waited for Lucy to grab on before moving back to the dining room. Behind them, they heard Laxus swearing, but from the heavy steps in the hall, she knew that Laxus was coming one way or another.

Seated in her chair, Lucy smiled cheerfully at Laxus as Hoteye dropped him gently into the empty seat across from her. "How nice of you to join us. Hopefully nothing got cold."

Laxus responded with a string of curse words. She listened politely before saying: "Well that was quite an education. Isn't it interesting how one word can be used in so many different ways? I think I heard it being used as a verb, a noun, an adjective, an interjection…I lost count after a while. Normally I'd wash your mouth out with soap for that little tirade, but I think I owe you one or two rants, so you're safe for tonight. Now, let's eat."

Smiling pleasantly at Jellal, Lucy said: "Thank you for coming over and cooking, as well as lending us Cobra for the day. We really appreciate it, and enjoy having you and your team over."

Jellal glanced at Laxus's brooding face, but replied: "Thanks for the invitation. While we've made a lot of progress on our camp, it's still just a camp. Being able to get away for an evening and use a real kitchen is a treat."

"Well then, we'll have to do this more often," Lucy said, shooting a quick glare at Cobra, who looked as if he was about to fall out of his seat laughing. "Hopefully under better circumstances."

As they passed dishes, Meredy said: "You mentioned that Laxus would be going to the guild tomorrow when we were talking earlier. Do you want me to come stay with you while he's gone?"

"I appreciate the offer Meredy, but I was actually hoping Cobra wouldn't mind coming over." When the poison dragon slayer looked at her with narrowed eyes and opened his mouth to complain, she thought: _I'll make it worth your while, I promise_. He looked wary, but nodded.

"Maybe the next day?" Meredy asked hopefully. "We haven't spent time together in a while."

"Of course," Lucy said, smiling. "Angel, do you want to come too? We could have a girl's day."

Cobra groaned. "No romantic comedies or shitty romance novels," he said. "I _don't_ need that crap in my head."

His two female teammates glared at him. "Maybe if you minded your own business…" Angel began.

"We'll see what we can do," Lucy said smoothly, her lips quirking up in a grin before she smoothed her expression out. She had a few ideas of what they could do while still adhering to Cobra's request, and one or two of them was worse than his ban. His head whipped around as he caught the tail end of her thought, but she smiled at him and turned to ask Jellal how the construction was going.

* * *

Laxus sat grumpily in his chair as Lucy, Angel, and Racer squabbled over his movie collection with Cobra and Meredy shouting suggestions from the kitchen where they were washing dishes. Jellal had settled on one end of one of the couches, and Hoteye at the other end, close enough that he could keep Laxus from getting up if he was of the mind to. Wishing that he could go back into his room and blast music through his sound pods, he closed his eyes. Even the alcohol hadn't helped, despite his desire to just drown out all his thoughts. It was the problem with having started drinking when he was young. He wasn't as bad as Cana, but he rarely ever got as drunk as he had been trying to for the past week. In his mind he kept seeing Lucy's bloody body, and over and over again he heard the voices of his guild members telling him that it was his fault. _And it is my fault. If I hadn't forced her to do this, she wouldn't have collapsed today. She wouldn't be scarred, she wouldn't have almost died…_

Someone had finally picked a movie, because Racer was turning out the lights, and Meredy was prodding a sleepy Midnight to move over and make room for her on the couch with Lucy and Angel. Lucy seemed to be in high spirits, although he caught her glancing at him every so often during the movie. Towards the end though, she had fallen asleep. Perhaps it was something Midnight exuded, because all four of them were asleep. Lucy's blonde hair mixed with Meredy's pink, since the two were resting their heads on each other. Angel was leaning up against the back of the couch, Midnight's head on her lap and her hand twined in his hair.

"Thank you," Jellal murmured, and Laxus looked over to see the blue haired former council member also watching the sleeping mages. "This is the first time since…since Tenrou that any of us has been able to feel at peace. And it's because of you."

"About the only thing I did right," Laxus muttered, eyes going instinctively to Lucy's wrists, where he knew the healing scars were, hidden by her long sleeves.

"Where would she be if you didn't come back?" Jellal murmured softly. "I don't know much about what happened, since Erza wasn't here, but I do know that you saved her life."

"It was my fault," Laxus said, not caring that Cobra and Racer were still awake, Hoteye seeming to have dozed off as well. "I put her in danger."

"May I ask what happened?" Jellal said quietly. "I know it's none of my business…"

"When we all disappeared for that year, she made a deal with the mayor that she would do whatever he needed a mage to do, and in return he'd loan her enough money to pay for her living expenses and rebuild the guild hall. Lucy had to pledge her keys in collateral, so if she ever broke the contract she would lose her keys. The guy wanted the keys though, so he kept pushing her harder and harder, trying to make her break the contract. And even though it was over when I returned and restarted the guild, he manipulated me into tying her to the contract again. She never said a word though, not even when I clearly didn't care what the contract held. It all came to a head after she was injured on a mission. Until that day I didn't know a human being could lose that much blood and still live…"

"She's alive now," Jellal murmured gently. "And from what I know of Lucy Heartfilia, she's not one to suffer in silence. Her actions tonight certainly proved that she can be very vocal when she wants something. So I would not be too quick to blame it all on you. Certainly, you should have checked the contract before you allowed her to enter into it. But Fairy Tail helps it's nakama, and she knows that more than anyone. If she had asked, all of you would have jumped to her aid."

"I still failed her," Laxus mumbled, watching the girl sleep. "I should have known…"

"Maybe," Jellal said calmly. "But becoming a guild master doesn't make you omniscient. In fact, I think it makes you more prone to mistakes, especially at the beginning. However, your life is no longer your own. No matter what, your guild members need you. Take each experience as just that, and learn from it."

"How do you get past the guilt?" Laxus said, and was ashamed of the desperation evident in his voice. Yet Jellal simply nodded, and smiled softly.

"I've been trying to atone for my sins for the past eight years," Jellal said softly. "It's only this past month that I've started to wonder if perhaps I was going about it the wrong way. Meredy says that Juvia once told her that if you love your friends, live for them. Well, I've done a lot of killing and a lot of hurting, but I haven't done a lot of living. Maybe, instead of trying my best to make up for everything by denying myself any type of pleasure, I should live on and not abandon any chance for happiness I could have. I'm not saying that I'm absolved from my guilt. I won't ever be able to forget what I have done. But I can live on and still honor their memory even if I'm happy. My only regret now is that Urtear can't be here with us."

"Urtear?" Laxus asked, puzzled. He hadn't ever heard of a member of Crime Sorciere named Urtear.

Jellal's smile was sad as he looked at Meredy. "Urtear…she was the one who helped me get out of jail. But she was also the one who cursed me in the first place. She was a member of Grimoire Heart who was pretty much Meredy's big sister. I think she and Grey might have a history…she was always concerned about how he was doing."

"Where is she now?" When he heard the name _Grimoire Heart_, Laxus resisted the urge to snarl. He could still remember returning to Tenrou to find Hades about to kill Natsu and the others. Feeling his grandfather's will reaching out to him had frightened him more than he could ever remember being frightened before, at least until he nearly saw Lucy bleed out in the middle of the guild. It wasn't a pleasant set of memories.

"We don't know," Jellal said softly. "She disappeared after the Grand Magic Games and the Eclipse incident."

"I'm sorry," Laxus said awkwardly. He didn't think there had been any casualties during the incident, although from some of the guild members had said they had weird premonitions of dying. If Urtear was who Jellal said she was though…nobody but the two sitting in his living room would have looked for her.

"She's not dead," Jellal said. "At least, not yet, if I'm correct in my assumptions."

Laxus's confusion must have been easy to read, because Jellal continued: "You have to understand, Urtear's magic was very rare. She had the ability to control an object's _time_, moving it forward or backward as she pleased. I think that those weird premonitions that everyone had actually happened. Urtear must have tried to turn back time before the gate, but something must have happened so she couldn't turn it back to before the gate was opened…it's just my theory though. We don't know what she was thinking, or why she did any of it. But she entrusted us with Crime Sorciere, so we will continue her will."

"Wait, so she was the one who game us those premonitions?" Laxus said, astonished.

"Not a premonition," Jellal admonished. "She literally _turned back time_. What everyone saw actually happened, but Urtear was able to reset time. Unfortunately, this spell comes at a great cost. In order to turn back someone's time, the user must sacrifice their own time. If Urtear still lives, she is a very old woman now. But I hope she's happy."

"What a dangerous form of magic," Laxus muttered softly. "But we owe her more than anyone can ever imagine."

"Indeed," Jellal agreed. "But she would be happy that Meredy now has a place to come home to. She treated her like a little sister, almost like a mother at some points. Sometimes I wonder if Meredy's devotion to the cloaks is because they were Urtear's suggestion, and Urtear made Meredy's cloak herself. So the two of us try to do our best for Urtear's sake, and fight against Zeref, who is the root of all of this."

"Fairy Tail will always fight against Zeref," Laxus said. "Your comrades will always be by your side during that fight."

"I know," Jellal said with a small smile. "And I am glad of it. You lead a formidable guild, with a formidable love for everyone it meets."

"Gramps did better than I ever will," Laxus muttered, his good mood gone as quickly as it had come.

"You haven't been master for a year yet," Jellal reminded him gently. "Give it time."

"In that year, I managed to nearly get one of my guild members killed twice," Laxus growled, eyes fixed on Lucy as she slept on the couch, head still leaning on Meredy's.

"But you also saved her," Jellal said quietly. "Your grandfather had to deal with the war against Phantom Lord that resulted in three severely injured members, a destroyed guild hall, and then the admission of former enemies into the guild. He had to deal with the events on Tenrou Island, the Eclipse Incident, and the attack by Tartarus. During all of this, he had to exile his son and raise his grandson alone, exiling him after the Fantasia incident. Makarov did not have a painless tenure as Master. Being Master means that you are the person everyone looks to when these things happen. I can imagine that after what happened to Lucy during her fight with Flare, he felt responsible. What if he hadn't exiled his son, giving him a reason to go after his guild members? Or what if he hadn't created such a rivalry with Jose of Phantom Lord that the man would begin a war just because he was tasked with retrieving a rich man's daughter who ended up a member of Fairy Tail? What if he had discovered that _Mest_ was actually _Doranbolt_ and gone into the S-class trials with more precautions in place? What if he had seen the hints of madness in his former guild master and had done something to stop him from founding Grimoire Heart? What if he had done something different when he raised his grandson, did a better job so the boy wouldn't have had to grow up into a man who was shouldering so much bitterness?"

Looking at Jellal, Laxus said flatly: "You know quite a bit about our guild."

The other man shrugged. "I was a council member, once upon a time. You guys were always a topic of discussion. The Phantom Lord incident meant quite a bit of extra work for us. Urtear told me about Tenrou and what happened. I was present at the Eclipse Games. And Erza told me a bit about your history when I wondered about the hostility some of the others seemed to exhibit. Oh, and Doranbolt came down to my cell a few times right after everyone disappeared before he quit the council for a while. He was usually pretty well drunk, but he seemed to know that I would have wanted to hear about the Fairy Tail he remembered, and the events that happened on the island. In the end, I never got to thank him for that."

Slumping in his chair, Laxus muttered: "Was there a point to that?"

"To show you that everyone struggles with the _what-if"s_. Nobody has an easy life. And while you may have made a mistake in Lucy's situation…I have to say, today I have seen the most life in her since before Tartarus. When we first came here, she always seemed to have this undercurrent of anger running through her. But tonight, there was none of that. And I can only imagine that this change has something to do with you and what you've tried to do for her. Nothing I say will help you get rid of the guilt, but maybe it will make it easier to bear until the day when you come to whatever realization there is that makes the guilt go away. Let me know when you find it."

Standing, the blue haired man went over to the couch and gently began separating Lucy and Meredy. Once he had them separated, he gathered Meredy's sleeping form in his arms and lifted her easily. "Cobra, Racer, could you wake Hoteye and do something about Angel and Midnight? Just try not to wake Lucy in the meantime."

Racer stood and shoved Hoteye's shoulder. "Morning sleepy head, time to get up." As the man blinked and stood, the poison dragon slayer joined Racer by the couch and lifted Midnight easily, throwing the younger man over his shoulder. "It's a good thing he doesn't wake up at every little thing," Jellal murmured, watching the two. Racer looked at Angel for a moment, and then gently lifted her off the couch.

"Good choice man," Cobra muttered as he moved to open the door. "She'd kill you first and ask questions later if you woke her up in the middle of her nap. Sparky, tell the blonde I'll be over in the morning by eight, and she better follow through on whatever her deal is for me. And breakfast. I'll want breakfast."

"Sure," Laxus grunted, now remembering Lucy's deal with Freed and what it meant for him. With a sigh, he looked at the blonde, now alone on the couch. Getting up, he lifted her gently and started down the hall to her room. Placing her on her bed, he drew the blanket up over her after sliding her shoes off her feet. Crossing the hall, he went into his own room, wondering if his nightmares would let him sleep this night.

*****Well, Jellal tried. The man who probably deals with the most guilt in the guild attempted to talk down another guilty person. Oh, and more amusing Cobra moments. Not a pivotal chapter, but an important one, nonetheless, since this is the first time we're in Laxus's head since after Doranbolt arrived. More funny Cobra moments next chapter, because Lucy and Laxus are being to serious to be silly.*****


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:**

When Lucy woke up in the morning to Horologium's greeting, she was surprised to find herself in her bed. The last thing she could remember was watching the movie, with Meredy asleep on her shoulder and then…she must have fallen asleep too. Someone must have carried her back to her room and pulled the blanket up over her. Sitting up, she found her shoes dropped carelessly next to the bed. Shoving them aside, she moved stiffly into the bathroom, hoping a shower would wash away all of the aches and pains that she now associated with trying to do too much.

Showered and dressed in fresh clothes, Lucy made her bed and put her room in order before moving into the kitchen. Virgo was already there, beginning breakfast preparations.

"I've told you that you don't need to do this," Lucy said, grabbing a frying pan and reaching for the carton of eggs her spirit had gotten out. "I'm perfectly capable of making breakfast on my own."

"But Princess, I couldn't help very much yesterday…" the maid spirit began as she continued to cut up fruit. "I wanted to do something to make today easier."

"Still Virgo, I'm back to normal today. And three breakfasts is easy for me. It's your day off though, isn't it? Yesterday was nothing to worry about. If I had needed your help, I would have called. I know you can come through your gate on your own so my own magic wouldn't have been an issue. Thanks for letting me do it on my own though."

"Punishment, Princess?" the spirit inquired, setting her knife down and facing Lucy as the blonde stood over the stove, ready to start cooking.

"Not today Virgo," Lucy said with a grin. "Now, if you insist, you can help me with breakfast today. I'd definitely welcome the company."

"Of course Princess," the spirit said, resuming her previous task with a matching smile. "So Laxus-san is going back to the guild?"

"Freed came yesterday to drag him back, but I made sure to put limits on him. You know how it's been here, the last week. He's where I was…trapped inside himself. I had you guys, but I needed to work through it for myself, and that just takes time."

"Who will stay with you while he's gone? Should I stay, or should I ask brother to come?" Virgo finished with the fruit and rummaged in the fridge for some sausage. Grabbing another pan, she joined Lucy at the stove.

"Cobra's coming over, to help get Laxus to the guild if need be, and to stay with me during the day. I've got a plan though that will make him happy, so hopefully that works."

"Hey blondie, the food better be ready!"

At the call from outside, Lucy sighed. "Maybe it was a good thing you showed up to help today Virgo. He doesn't sound patient this morning." Grabbing a plate, she put the eggs she had been cooking on it and passed it to Virgo. "It's almost done, so keep your shirt on."

Cobra let himself in through the front door and dropped into one of the stools around the island. "So you can cook," he commented idly.

"What did you think yesterday was?" the blonde said as she glared at him. "Virgo, when his is done, go ahead and give it to him. Feel free to spit in it too. He likes poison."

"Speaking of which, where'd the bleach go?" Cobra looked around the kitchen, but Lucy shrugged. "I left it with you two yesterday. Haven't seen it since."

"Does Princess need something cleaned?" Virgo said, placing a plate in front of Cobra. "I can find you some bleach."

"Cobra likes drinking things that the rest of us wouldn't dare," Lucy said, turning back to the stove. "He should try and remember where he saw it last and go find it if he wants it."

"Is that why there was bleach in the fridge Princess?" Virgo piped up. "I was wondering how that got there, but I put it in the laundry room. Should I go get it?"

"No need Virgo, I'll go. If you could keep working on breakfast that would help a lot." Turning over the eggs to the maid spirit, Lucy headed towards the laundry room. Stopping at Laxus's door, she checked the time with Horologium and knocked. "Laxus, hope you're up. Breakfast's almost ready for you in the kitchen. If I hear no noise by the time I come back from the laundry room, I'm coming in."

She took as long as she could getting the bleach from the laundry room, surprised at how cool it still was. Returning to Laxus's bedroom door, she waited for thirty seconds for sounds of him shifting about. When she didn't hear anything, she set the bleach down outside the door and pushed it open.

Laxus was still in bed, curtains shut tightly against the morning sun that peeked through. Deciding that was as good a place to start as any, Lucy drew back the curtains and smiled as the sun hit her face. That was the nice thing about Laxus's house. Whoever had designed it had made use of the natural light in every possible way. Seeing no movement from him, Lucy moved to the edge of his bed and looked down at him, surprised by how young and vulnerable he looked when asleep. She prodded him gently, whispering "It's time to get up now."

He stirred slightly, but remained asleep. Grabbing the corner of his sheet, Lucy ripped it off and chuckled as he jolted awake, scrambling to find the missing fabric. Her chuckles died though as she realized that he was only wearing boxers, and she fled the room, mumbling: "Breakfast in the kitchen."

Out in the hallway, with the door safely shut behind her, Lucy fought to keep her blush from showing on her face. _It's not like I'm not used to seeing naked men. Hell, Grey strips down like that all the time. I'm just a bit out of practice with it._ She couldn't deny that Laxus wasn't attractive, but he was her guild master and current house mate. Focusing on more mundane things, she picked up the bottle of bleach and returned to the kitchen.

"Princess, I was just about to come see if you needed help," Virgo said, putting a plate next to Cobra. "Is Laxus-san coming?"

Swallowing, Lucy dropped the bleach onto the island next to the poison dragon slayer, who seemed to be in the middle of his second plate. "He's awake. Hopefully he'll be here soon."

"Ah, you had to wake him up?" Virgo placed a third plate on the island and motioned for Lucy to sit down. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No, this is great. And yeah…I had to wake him up."

Cobra must have caught her thoughts, because he started laughing so hard he nearly dropped the bottle of bleach. When the laughter didn't stop after a minute, Lucy glared at him.

"Do you mind?" she snapped, spearing a piece of sausage with her fork.

"I don't know," Cobra chuckled, setting the bleach down. "Are you going to stop acting like a twelve year old?"

"I _am not_ acting like a twelve year old," Lucy hissed. "I just was caught by surprise."

He kept laughing quietly and Lucy tried to tune him out as she finished her breakfast. However, when Laxus came into the kitchen Cobra's laughter increased again. Irritated, Lucy exchanged looks with Virgo, who was helping her wash dishes. The maid nodded shortly, and in a flash, Cobra was no longer sitting at the kitchen island.

Looking startled, Laxus asked: "What the hell just happened?"

"He was getting annoying," Lucy shrugged as she reached for a pan and started washing it. "I asked Virgo to take him outside. She's gotten good at repairing floors instantly. I'll have to congratulate her on that."

Laxus's face went from surprise to confusion. "What happened to my floor?"

"It's how Virgo got him out. She tunneled through the earth and left him somewhere outside. To do so means going through your floor, which she replaced so very nicely." Lucy heard shouting outside, and then Virgo appeared next to her.

"I left him up in a tree at the edge of the clearing Princess," the spirit reported, picking up Cobra's half-finished plate. "He should take a while to get down. It was a tall tree."

"He's only been here…how long? And he managed to piss you off already? I thought you've been better about that lately." Laxus said, pushing food around on his plate.

"Stop that," Lucy said, turning to face him. "And it was with good reason that he ended up in a tree. He'll be down by the time we leave. Eat your food."

Sighing, Laxus returned to his plate and Lucy returned to washing dishes with Virgo. When Laxus was done with his plate, Lucy took it and washed it, handing it to Virgo to dry. Checking the clock on the wall, she dried her hands and looked at the maid spirit. "Thanks for the help this morning. You can go back now, and take tomorrow off in place of today. I don't have anything special planned, just a girls' day with Angel and Meredy."

"Of course Princess," Virgo said, bowing. "Punishment?"

"Not today Virgo. You were a big help. Oh, and nice job with the floors."

"Thank you Princess."

As Virgo disappeared, Lucy turned to Laxus. "Ready to go see if Cobra's made it out of his tree yet?"

* * *

Cobra meandered along behind the blonde pair in front of him as they approached Magnolia. Lucy _seemed_ to have gotten over being angry with him for teasing her over breakfast, but it was difficult to tell with her. And Laxus's mind was sinking further and further into darkness with each step they took. So he was perfectly content to keep his distance from the two.

When they reached the outskirts of Magnolia though, Lucy's thoughts did a complete 180. The suddenness of it startled Cobra, who had mainly been keeping an eye on Laxus to see if he was going to run, since that was why Lucy had wanted him around. But his eyes snapped to Lucy, who had stopped dead in the middle of the road. It was almost invisible, but small shudders ran through her form. Her mind, normally well organized, was a tangle of thoughts. But the overwhelming emotion was _fear_.

Laxus had noticed too, and he had paused in front of her, concern on his face. "Lucy, is everything all right?"

She stayed still, the only movements being the tremors, but her mind responded.

_Pleasenomoredon'tmakemegoinpainangerblooddoIhaveenoughtimewillImakeitbackthistimepleasemakeitendsomeonehelpdon'tmakemegobackguildhallbloodfearcan'tdothisanymorejustmakeitstoppleasemakeitstopsomeoneLaxuswhyNatsuwhydidyoumakemestaysomeonetakemeawaymakethemstoppleasesomeoneplease…_

Covering his ears, as if he could block out the painful barrage of thoughts, Cobra looked at Laxus. "We need to get her out of here," he said, but a golden glow appeared in front of Lucy. A man with orange hair, who he remembered from seeing at the house yesterday appeared, wrapping his arms around Lucy.

"Lucy, I've got you. It's okay. You don't have to go back. Shhh, I've got you, it's okay."

"Loke," Laxus said, and Cobra could hear the relief mixed with worry in his voice. "What's going on?"

"The city has a lot of bad memories for her," Loke said quietly, stroking her hair as she trembled in his arms. "She shouldn't go to the guild hall today."

"She needs to show up," Cobra inserted himself into the conversation. "They said yesterday that they need to see that she has someone staying with her today."

"Got it," he said, tipping Lucy's chin up so she could look into his face. "Lucy? I need you to call out Gemini. Can you hear me? You need to bring out Gemini."

Managing a small nod, Blondie reached for her keys, and two small forms appeared in the road. Grinning a bit, Cobra remembered how Angel used to use them against her enemies, but his attention was recaptured by the man who was holding Lucy.

"Gemi, Mini, I need you to make an identical copy of Lucy as she is right now, but don't let her memories overwhelm you. You need to go to the guild for her and do whatever she needs to do there and then you bring Cobra back here."

The spirits nodded, and then there were two Lucys standing in the middle of the road. Laxus looked torn, but the spirit who was holding Blondie shook his head at him. "There's nothing anyone can do today about this. She needs time and space right now, and if you don't get to the guild, she won't have that. The only thing you can do for her right now is go to the guild, and she'll be there to pick you up. Or at least Gemini will. Go ahead, I'll stay with her until Cobra gets back."

"Okay," Laxus said, and Cobra could hear his thoughts going downhill towards where Lucy's were at the moment. Grabbing him by the arm, Cobra started dragging him away from where Lucy and the spirit stood.

"Come on man, we've got to go. It's the only thing we can do for her right now." Cobra didn't know when he got this involved in their lives but for the moment it seemed as if he was stuck there. Laxus eventually stopped resisting and started walking with him, Gemini Lucy trailing behind.

Stopping outside the guild, Cobra looked at Gemini. "You good to go in there?"

"Yes," Gemini replied, using Lucy's voice. "I know what I need to do."

"Well then, let's get this over with, and then we can get back to Lucy." Cobra said, shoving the doors open. Gemini walked alongside him while Laxus trailed behind them. As Gemini marched up to the bar, Laxus split off and went up to the second floor.

"Where's he going?" Cobra muttered to Gemini.

"Get away from the bar and out of sight." Gemini said quietly. When Cobra retreated, the spirit muttered so that only he or another dragon slayer could hear: "His office. He's probably going to shut himself in there until we come back." Gemini turned back to the bar just in time to smile briefly at the barmaid who appeared from the kitchen, calling out greetings as she did. "Morning Mira. Is Kinana here?"

"She's just finishing something up in the kitchen. Why, do you need her for something?" Cobra watched quietly from a shadowy alcove near the bar, but not near enough that the white-haired woman could see him.

Gemini grimaced. "Freed says that I have to have someone with me when Laxus isn't there, so I was hoping Kinana would come out to the house, if she wants to."

"If I want to what?" Kinana appeared, carrying a tray of plates. "Oh, good morning Lucy." Her eyes flicked cautiously around the room, and he tried to make himself as still as possible. It had been a month since he had first met her in her human form, and he truly wanted to get to know her, which meant not scaring her. He didn't know why Gemini had him stay out of sight, but he was willing to trust the spirit.

"Morning, Kinana. I was wondering if you would come out to the house today with me. Jellal and the others been stuck dealing with me for a few days, and I thought they could use a break. Freed says I can't be alone though, so I thought I'd ask you?"

Kinana studied Gemini for a minute. "Would _he_ be there?"

"Only if you were both okay with it," Gemini said. "I don't know what you two feel about each other, but if you want to spend time together without the matchmaker hovering so you can actually get a feel for what the other person is like, I'm willing to help. But you don't need to come if it isn't something you want. Or if you want to come, but don't want to see him, he'll stay at Jellal's camp. It's up to you."

Cobra was surprised at Gemini's actions. _Was this blondie's idea? Or is this Gemini?_ If it was Lucy, he was surprised that she cared enough to try and do something like this for him. She was right, it was hard to try and get to know Kinana with Mira or the other guild members hovering around, and she usually had to work anyway. He knew the solution to that would be to ask her out, but if he did, would she say yes? Or would the entire guild overhear and decide to chaperone? Lucy's suggestion, if it was hers, was a laid back way for them to get to know each other without any pressure or planning required.

If it was Gemini…he could only wonder what Lucy would think of her spirit's actions. Especially since she had looked so terrified when he last saw her. _And why would Gemini do something like this on its own?_

"If Mira says it's okay, I wouldn't mind coming. And he can come too. I'd like that." Kinana finally said. Cobra did his best to keep control over his face, trying not to show how happy it made him to hear that she was at least willing to try spending time with him. He was glad that his Soul-Listening magic was unique, and that none of the other members of the guild were able to eavesdrop on his mind at the moment, although he heard Gajeel chuckling and knew that the Iron Dragon slayer had scented him in the guild.

Kinana went and had a word with Mira, and Cobra realized why Gemini had him to stay out of the way. The barmaid would have asked questions if both Kinana and Cobra had disappeared with Lucy, but if it's just Kinana, there would be no need for further questions.

"Cobra, meet us outside," Gemini muttered under her breath, and Cobra slipped out of the shadows and took the long way around to the doors. Outside, he waited for the two women to appear.

What he didn't expect was Gajeel.

"Something's wrong with Bunny," the man said bluntly. "I know you came here with Laxus, but the person in the guild isn't her. It's that spirit of hers."

"How did you tell?" Cobra asked, leaning against the wall of the guild, listening for signs of Gemini and Kinana coming towards them. "Wendy could only tell because it was an old copy without the wrist scars."

"The spirit smells like a weird metal and something more…it's barely there, but enough that I can smell it if I concentrate. And after Shrimp mentioned Bunny was using the spirit yesterday, I wanted to check and make sure that she wasn't pulling that shit. Did you leave her alone?"

"She's with another one of her spirits, at the edge of town." Cobra admitted reluctantly. Since either Lucy or Gemini had just gotten him a day with Kinana, he was more reluctant than usual to spill secrets about them.

"Which one?" Gajeel demanded, eyes taking on a hint of panic. "And it's just the two of them?"

"Dunno which one," Cobra said lazily, hearing Kinana and Gemini moving towards them. "Ginger hair."

"Loke," Gajeel swore quietly under his breath. "You keep Gemini and Kinana here. I need to go check on Bunny, make sure she's okay."

"Chill man, she's safe with him," Cobra said, eyes watching the door. "He wouldn't hurt her."

"Maybe not, but he _would_ let her hurt herself," Gajeel muttered, turning towards the streets. "Stay here."

"Gajeel, what's going on?" Gemini asked, emerging with Kinana behind her. The other woman looked startled to find Cobra there, but watched the interaction between Gajeel and Gemini instead.

"Give up the act," Gajeel growled. "I know you're not Lucy."

Gemini shrugged. "You've got me. She's safe though, don't worry. Leo is with her."

"That's why I'm worrying," Gajeel muttered, turning again towards the road that led to Laxus's cabin.

"I wouldn't go see her," Gemini said quietly. "She was going to come today, but she couldn't make it into town. She's too scared. There's too many bad memories."

"Her head was a mess," Cobra chipped in, running his hand through his hair. "She just stopped dead in the middle of the road. You could smell the fear coming off her."

"Laxus was with us," Gemini reminded Gajeel. "He wouldn't have left her with Leo if he didn't think it was safe."

"Fine," Gajeel growled. "I won't go to her. But you tell her that she better do a better job at hiding. With the ice brain and Erza both back, she's going to have a harder time keeping both of them away. And if the flame idiot shows up, she's not going to be able to keep him away. So tell her that I get it if she needs time, but she's going to have to come up with something better than Gemini. Natsu will figure that one out pretty quickly."

"I'll let her know," Gemini said, and Gajeel returned to the guild hall, leaving the three of them alone. Kinana glanced shyly at Cobra, and then asked Gemini: "You aren't Lucy?"

"No, we're Gemini. Lucy asked us to copy her and come to the guild in her place. She did want you to come over today if you wanted to, and spend time with Cobra, if you wanted to. I just ended up bringing the message."

"If you want to stay here, I don't mind," Cobra said quietly, trying to hide how much he _did_ mind, but above all else, he wanted her to be happy and comfortable.

"No, I said I'd go," Kinana said, raising her chin and meeting his eyes. "And I wouldn't mind talking to you outside the guild today. Lucy might need some help too."

Cobra was amazed at the change in her. He remembered the first time seeing her in Laxus's house, trying to reconcile the familiar scent with the unfamiliar person standing in front of him as she hid behind the barmaid's skirts. But here she was, standing in front of him, saying that she'd like a chance to get to know him, that she wanted to help Lucy, who she had dumped water on the first time he had met her.

They walked as a trio back towards the edge of town, Gemini quiet and still, and Cobra not really talking. Despite having wanted to spend time away from the guild and his team with Kinana, now that he had the opportunity he wasn't sure what to do with it.

When they reached where Lucy had stopped, Cobra checked for scents, looking for the distinctive strawberry scent that he was learning to associate with the blonde. Following the scent trail, mixed with the same odd scent Gemini was giving off, he found the Lucy and her spirit camped out in a small park at the edge of town, Lucy curled in the spirit's arms. Gemini shifted back into its spirit form as they approached, running to Lucy.

"You two had best go back," the orange haired spirit said as they reached the pair. "She's got Plue out right now, and isn't back to full strength yet."

Kinana approached slowly. "Loke-san?" she asked quietly. "Is everything okay with Lucy-san?"

"She's just working through some things Kinana-san," Loke said replied gently. "Coming back to town gave her a lot of bad memories."

"Should we go back to Laxus-sama's house?" Kinana said softly. "She may feel better there."

"I tried suggesting that," Loke murmured, stroking the blonde head buried in her shoulder. "She said she wanted to stay as long as it took for you guys to come back." Carefully, he tapped her shoulder. "Lucy, they're here. It's time to go back."

The blonde stirred, and shifted so that she was sitting in Loke's lap. Cobra could see that she was holding onto a little white…something. It _smelled_ like a spirit, but he couldn't tell what it was supposed to be. Kinana knelt next to Lucy. "Hello Plue, it's been a long time since I've seen you. How are you?"

Chirping…or whatever the spirit used to communicate, came from the spirit, and Kinana smiled. "I'm sorry, I don't have a lollipop for you. I didn't know I'd see you. Tell you what. Next time I come to see Lucy, I'll bring you _two_ lollipops. Does that sound good?"

It shook with excitement, and Cobra realized that Lucy's mind was starting to calm down from its previously distraught state. A small smile flickered over her face, and she said hoarsely: "You're going to spoil him Kinana."

Kinana grinned back. "I know…but he's so cute. And he makes you smile, and we miss your smile. The guild's boring now. Grey's stopped stripping now, so Erza can't yell at him about it. Although, it's only been a day, so who knows how long that will last."

"I'm not sure I can go back," Lucy whispered, and Cobra smelled the tell-tale salt tang of tears. "It scares me, being in town, thinking about going back to the guild…a lot of things."

"You know what?" Kinana murmured, with a shy glance at Cobra. "When I met him, _I_ was scared. I didn't know if he would bring my memories back, and I would learn about myself…that's scary. What type of person was I? Am I different now? Would he still like me? Would I be a disappointment? Is he a mean person? I didn't know anything, and that scared me…but I had Mira, and Lisanna, and everyone at the guild, who reassured me that they would still be there for me, no matter what. And he turned out to be kind, and a little shy, I think, coming to the guild every once in a while to say hello. Now I have you, giving us a chance to talk with each other without pressure, without the guild hanging on every word. In the end, I'm still afraid…I don't know if my memories will come back, but I _do_ know that my friends will be there to help. Your friends are here for you too, even if you decide you never want to go to the guild hall again. So you don't have to make that decision right away. We'll do whatever you want, because you're our family and that's what we do."

"I haven't been very nice," Lucy hiccupped. "I don't know why you would be this nice to me after what I said."

Kinana smirked, an unexpected sight for Cobra, who didn't think the shy girl he was getting to know was capable of looking that mischievous. "Didn't you apologize? And didn't I dump water over your head? I think we're on our way to making amends. Sure, you said a lot of mean things to a lot of people at the guild, but you were hurting. Nobody's going to blame you for lashing out, not when they're told what was going on. A lot of them already _do_ understand, and while it hurt that you were pushing us away, they realize that you were just dealing with things the only way you could."

"There were other ways of dealing with it," Lucy sniffed. "I didn't deal with it at all that way."

Kinana reached out and pulled Lucy into a hug. "It's okay Lucy, it's going to be okay. Fairy Tail will always be your family, no matter what. Sure, apologizing is going to be rough, but we're forgiving to a fault. We'll be here, as long as you want us."

Lucy shuddered, and buried her face in Kinana's shoulder. Cobra could hear her sobs, and smell the tears, but Kinana simply hugged the blonde tighter. When the tears stopped, Lucy looked up at Kinana, and Cobra could see that the tears had smudged some makeup on her face, revealing the scars underneath. "Can we go back to Laxus's?" the girl whispered, and Kinana smoothed her hair.

"Of course we can, that was the plan, wasn't it?" Carefully, she helped Lucy stand up, taking care not to hit the little white thing in Lucy's arms. "Let's go back and get you all cleaned up. I don't know if you've showered or not already, but a nice bath probably would help no matter what. After that, we can do a little spa day. I haven't painted my nails in a while, since Mira's been keeping me busy at the bar."

"What about Cobra?" Lucy murmured, cuddling the little white thing in her arms. "You came out here to spend time with him."

"I know," Kinana said, and Cobra saw her glance at him with pleading eyes. "But you need me more. Hopefully he understands that I'm not avoiding him, just postponing…"

Cobra swallowed hard. The emotions contained in the thoughts both women were emitting were already messing with his head, but hearing Kinana's thoughts at that moment…he could _feel_ her desire to be able to spend time with him as it warred with her instinct to mother Lucy in this moment. Simply knowing that she was torn by the decision had been enough to satisfy him, but hearing her plans to make it up to him later without fail…he couldn't help but think that his partner had become an amazing woman. _Is this Fairy Tail's influence?_

"Come on," Kinana said softly, holding out her hand to Lucy. "Let's go back to the house."

"Loke?" Lucy turned to face the man who was still sitting on the ground, watching her with soft eyes. "Will you come too?"

"With pleasure Lucy," he said, reaching out to pat her gently on the head. "Whatever you want."

"Cobra…" the blonde said, turning to him. Surprised, he could only grunt, but she didn't seem to mind. "I'm sorry about ruining your day."

"Don't worry about it blondie," he said gruffly, turning away so they couldn't see the blush that threatened to creep up on his face. "As long as you don't put me up a tree again…then I'll be angry."

Behind him he could hear Kinana's soft chuckle and a snicker from Lucy's male spirit. Heading towards Laxus's house, he heard them follow him and realized that a lot had changed in a short amount of time. The man he had been as a member of the Oracian Seis wouldn't have acted this way at all…not even for Cubelios. With a shock, he realized that he preferred this kind of life, even if he had to put up with the insanity that was his new guild. _It's a shame I had to go to jail to find this life_.

* * *

Checking the clock, Laxus realized that it was five, and under Lucy's agreement with Freed, he could leave. Even though he hadn't left his office, and had seen only Lisanna when she had brought lunch up to him, it had been exhausting. After a week of having only Lucy around, the guild was painfully loud, especially with his enhanced hearing. Rubbing at the headache that had formed sometime during the afternoon, he finished the form he was working on and put down his pen. Grabbing his coat and his soundpods, he left his office, making his way towards the main floor.

At the bottom of the stairs, he passed Bixlow. "She's by the doors, waiting for you. Cobra's with her again."

"Thanks," Laxus grunted, moving quickly through the guild. All he wanted to do was get home and lock himself in his room and try to forget about the sight of Lucy standing terrified in the middle of the street. Cobra had pulled him away, but he couldn't get the scent of her fear out of his nostrils. It mingled with Gemini's scent in his mind, because he couldn't rid himself of the combination of fear and strawberries. His headache got worse, and he wished Lucy hadn't forbidden him from drinking. All he wanted to do at that moment was shut himself away, trying to numb himself from the ever present guilt that haunted him.

When he saw the blonde hair at the doors, he thought for a moment that the incident that morning had been a dream. She wasn't smiling as she usually did, but she looked composed, if not a bit distant as she gazed off into the distance, Cobra at her side, glaring at anyone who looked as if they were going to approach the blonde. As he got closer though, he caught the familiar scent of Gemini, and his heart sunk. _She's too scared to come_.

"Let's go," Gemini said, the spirit's voice an eerily exact copy of Lucy's own. "We can talk more outside the guild. Gajeel already knows something's wrong."

With heavy steps, Laxus followed the spirit out of the guild, Cobra trailing at his side. "How bad is it?" he muttered, both wanting to know and wanting to remain ignorant at the same time.

"She was pretty bad this morning," Cobra said quietly. "But Kinana was great with her. She got Lucy calmed down and relaxed again. They went through some of Lucy's exercises and watched a movie. After lunch, Lucy took a short nap, and when she woke up we all took a walk."

"Where is she now?"

"She came about as far as she did this morning. When we left her, she was better than she was this morning, but she was pretty nervous. Loke's been with her all day, as well as this weird little white thing that she swears is a dog." Cobra snorted, and Laxus couldn't help but grin slightly. He still wasn't convinced that Plue had any relation to a dog, despite seeing him on many occasions while Lucy was recovering.

The dragon slayers walked in silence for a while, but as they approached the place where Lucy was waiting, Cobra stopped for a minute.

Unsure of what was going on, Laxus paused as well. Seeing the poison dragon slayer shift from side to side uncomfortably, Laxus prepared for bad news. _Does Lucy not want to see me anymore? Has she reverted back to the way she was?_

"Look man, I know we're not best buds or anything like that, so this is gonna sound a bit weird. But…I've been in a place like yours before and I get second guessing yourself. So, if you ever want someone to vent to, or even just someone to fight with…I guess I'd be up for it."

Feeling as uncomfortable as the other dragon slayer looked, Laxus muttered: "I'll keep that in mind."

Cobra started moving again, and neither man said anything until they reached where Lucy and Loke were waited, Lucy holding tight to Plue with one arm, as if the spirit was a stuffed animal, and clasping Loke's hand tightly with her free hand. Cobra was right, she looked nervous and uncomfortable, but she was holding herself together. "How did it go?" she whispered.

"Fine," he said, eyes dropping to the ground. "Did a lot of paperwork."

"That's good. Nobody bothered you?"

"Stop it," he snapped, startling all of them, including himself. "Just…stop. Stop caring about how my day went when the last time I saw you, you were falling apart. Worry about yourself, not my sorry ass."

As he looked at her shocked face, he felt the guilt rising up again, this time so high it nearly choked him. Swallowing hard, he felt his magic trickle through his body and let the familiar feel of teleportation pull him away. Landing outside his house out of habit, he fled inside, heading for his room. Once there, with the door closed behind him, he yanked the curtains shut and returned to the door to make sure it was locked. Hands trembling, he slid down the length of the door until he was sitting on the floor, leaning against it. A tear leaked out of his eye, and he wondered how long it had been since he last cried. _It's just too much. I've failed too much…_

*****And the broship between all three of them continues! Plus some Cobra/Kinana! Also, even though I'm the one who ****_wrote_**** Lucy putting Cobra up a tree, it still makes me giggle each and every time...We've started towards a close at this point. Laxus's guilt, and Lucy's fear are pretty much the last issues to resolve. Oh, and Natsu's return, but we've got other things to do before we get there.**

**Next chapter...hmmm, should be fun. Celestial Spirit-driven intervention!*****


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine:**

After she had eaten, Lucy looked at the plate she had prepared for Laxus. When Cobra had dropped her off at the house, he had told her that Laxus was inside, holed up in his room, and asked if she wanted someone to come out to stay with her. Loke had stayed for a bit while she cooked, but she sent him back with Plue, knowing that it would hurt him if he stayed for much longer, and it would hurt her if she kept Plue's gate open. It was a sign of how much she had recovered that she was able to keep the small spirit's gate open for a little over eight hours, but she knew that it was a lot easier than keeping Loke, Virgo, or Taurus's gates open, even if none of them were in battle.

Picking up the plate, she headed down the hallway towards the bedrooms. Laxus's door was firmly shut, and when she tried the handle, she found it locked. Knocking on the door, she called out, but there was no answer. Sighing, she left the plate outside the door, told him it was there, and went into her room. Settling on her bed, she immersed herself in one of her favorite books, trying to forget the memories that her trip to Magnolia had evoked. Lucy didn't know _why_ she found it so hard to reenter the town, but each time she tried to make herself go forward, she found herself trapped in her memories. Her scars ached at the memories, and she rubbed them absently as she turned a page. A lump caught in her throat as her hand brushed across the hidden tattoo. She had wished fervently that Aquarius had been there, had given her one of her harsh but loving lectures as she trembled in the roadway. While the spirit was blunt and irritating at times, she was the closest thing Lucy had to a mother, the spirit having been her first contract.

Giving up on her book, Lucy let her tears flow, stifling her sobs in an effort to keep Laxus from hearing. She missed Aquarius, her mother, Natsu, Fairy Tail…everything that had been ripped away from her by Tartarus. Sure, Fairy Tail existed now, but it was different from the guild that she had joined. Their year apart had changed them, and it had changed her most of all. Lucy wished that none of this had happened to her, wished that she had gone with Mira, Erza, Wendy…anyone. Wished that Natsu hadn't made her stay behind and take care of the guild. Wished briefly that Laxus had just let her die that day so she wouldn't have to feel like this anymore.

_That's not true_, a voice whispered in her head. She had heard the voice several times before, and it always reminded her of Aquarius, when the spirit was being nice. _You love your guild, and you fought to keep living for them. If it had ended that day, you would have regretted it._

_I don't want to feel!_ Lucy screamed inside her head, the tears flowing harder. _It hurts too much. Things won't ever go back to normal._

_Since when were things ever normal,_ the voice snickered. _Your partners _never_ had a plan that actually was followed. You grew a lot during the year they were all gone, and so did they. It's only natural that things would change. But the Lucy I know won't give up just because things changed. You have your old friends still, and your new friends. I know it hurts right now Lucy, and it's going to hurt for a while. You have to get up and keep moving for it not to hurt. That's why Wendy told Laxus to take you away from the guild. There was no way you could heal there; you would have remained stuck. Look how far you've come since then. Right now, it's just a bump in the road that you'll make it over. Everyone has faith in you Lucy. Don't lose faith in yourself._

A soft golden glow filled the room, and Lucy looked up to see all of her spirits gathered around her. _All but one_.

"Lucy," Loke said, sitting next to her on the bed. "We'll always be here for you. No matter what, we'll be by your side. You're the best master any of us have had."

"Princess," Virgo said, putting Plue down in Lucy's lap. "It is an honor to serve you. We would have been devastated if we lost you."

"But I've been such a terrible person," Lucy sniffed. "I hurt Mira, and Levy, and everyone else at the guild."

"You're the kindest person we know," Sagittarius said, saluting. "They'll understand."

"Didn't Kinana tell you that this morning?" Aries said quietly, climbing up to wrap her arms around Lucy. "The guild will still love you."

"Your mother would have been proud of the way you protected your family," Capricorn said softly. "I only wish she was here today to see you."

"Aquarius can't stop worrying about you," Scorpio said with a chuckle. "I think she's even interrupted our dates to check on you and make sure you're okay. She always says she's trying to make sure that you're not getting a boyfriend when she's not looking, but she's such a bad liar."

"Miss Luuuucy's body looks beautiful, no matter what!" Taurus bellowed, and everyone in the room snickered at his blatant disregard for the topic at hand.

"We don't like feeling you this sad," Gemi and Mini chanted, crawling up in her lap next to Plue. "We'd rather play together like we used to."

"We miss your smile," Cancer said softly. "No matter what we do with your hair and outfit, it's not complete without your smile."

"I don't deserve you," Lucy sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "Through all of this, you've always been there for me."

"It's not only our duty, but our pleasure," Capricorn said gently, resting his hand on her shoulder.

Lucy sniffed again. "I know I've been getting better recently, but I don't know what to do now."

Aries cuddled her closer, and Gemini and Plue pressed closer against her. Loke shifted so he could wrap an arm around her, and Virgo sat beside her and placed her hand on Lucy's arm. "You just do what you always do, what Fairy Tail always does. When you get knocked down, you get back up and keep trying." Loke said quietly, resting his head against hers. "You've come this far since the guild disbanded, it would be a shame to stop now."

"How?" Lucy whimpered, pulling Plue and Gemini closer. "I'm tired of never feeling like I'm better for more than a day or so. Loke, I just want to stop feeling like a trainwreck."

"You're not a trainwreck Princess," Virgo said quietly, squeezing Lucy's hand reassuringly. "It's just a rough time for anyone. You've been handling it really well, given the circumstances."

"And as for the _how_," Capricorn said. "We'll just take it one step at a time. Just like we took your training, back at the beginning of this."

"We'll help as much as possible," Gemini chimed, and Plue nodded emphatically. "Don't worry about that."

"You've gotten a lot better," Aries mumbled shyly. "You could probably start your training again if you take it easy."

"Keep going with Laxus to the guild and picking him up," Loke said quietly. "Go as far as you feel comfortable, and then go back. It will get easier to go further over time. We'll take turns walking with you so you won't ever have to deal with it alone."

"Ask different members of the guild to come out every so often. I'm sure Levy would love to spend time with you Princess," Virgo said softly. "You can start rebuilding bridges in a place you're comfortable with."

"If you want, I'll come help you get ready each morning," Cancer said, reaching for his scissors. "When you look good, you'll feel good."

"Aquarius said she'll send notes every so often, if you want them. She says that if you're going to have to deal without her, you should still be able to get decent love advice," Scorpio said with a chuckle.

Lucy laughed, the first time since she had returned from picking Laxus up. "She shouldn't worry so much," she said softly. "I've got enough on my plate right now to think about dealing with love."

"You never know," Loke said mischievously. "You might think again about my proposal."

Lucy and the rest of the spirits snickered, with the exception of Aries, who actually _glared_ at the lion. "You wouldn't," Lucy said, chuckling. "I hear Aries has been spending lots of times with Virgo lately." She felt the spirit's head nodding, and Virgo smiled broadly.

Loke blanched. "You know I just said that to make you smile right?" he stuttered, looking between the three grinning women. "I know you don't have feelings like that for me."

"I'm not the one you need to convince," Lucy sang with a grin, feeling lighthearted for the first time in a long while. "You better make sure Aries believes you!"

"Aries," Loke began, and all of the spirits around burst out laughing. Smiling at the pair, Lucy grabbed their hands and put them together.

"You two make a much better pair than any other combination I can think of," she said softly. "I'm proud to call each and every one of you in this room my friends," she added, turning to the rest of her spirits. "How did you all come out, anyway? I don't feel any drain on my magical energy at all."

"We were given special permission Princess," Virgo said quietly, eyes gleaming. "You can still punish us if you want."

"The Spirit King saw how distressed you were and since we couldn't decide which of us would be best to send, he decided to allow all of us to open our gates at once." Aries said quietly. "I'm sorry if it's a bother…"

"It's not a bother at all," Lucy said softly, eyes brimming with tears again. "You guys…I can't tell you how much I love each and every one of you. Since…well you know when, I've had a lot of rough days, but you've always been there for me. I hope that I'm someday able to do that for all of you. I can't promise that I'll get better right away, but since I have you, I have the courage to keep moving again."

Around her, mumbled thanks and promises were heard as the spirits began to glow in the familiar dismissal. Once the room had dimmed though, Lucy was surprised to see Scorpio remaining.

"She's the voice in your head, you know," he said quietly. "She's pretty insistent about talking to you sometimes. I don't know how she does it, but she's channeling her voice through my key into your head. Something about the bond you two have, I guess."

Lucy swallowed hard. "Tell her I say thanks?" she mumbled against the lump rising in her throat.

"Of course," he said softly. "She also says that she's working on making a deal. I don't know what it is, since she won't tell me, but she says it's supposed to be a good thing."

"Tell her I miss her?" Lucy whispered, hugging the spirit tightly. "Tell her that I keep her key with everyone else's, right next to yours?"

"She knows you touch it every morning and whisper your greetings," Scorpio said softly. "Nearly brought her to tears the first few weeks."

"Thank you so much," Lucy mumbled, hugging him again. "And thank her too."

"Of course Lucy," he said as he faded back through his gate. "She'll be happy to hear that you're doing better."

Sitting on her bed, Lucy gathered her scattered emotions together and composed herself. She didn't know if Laxus had been able to detect that she'd been crying, or that her spirits had arrived en masse, but if he did, he didn't mind. Opening the door, she found his plate, still untouched, sitting in front of his door where she left it.

"I brought you dinner," she said softly, knocking on his door. "You really should eat at least something."

"I'm not hungry," he grunted, and she realized that he was close to the door.

"Well, it's here if you want it," she murmured. "I'll be in my room. Goodnight Laxus."

As she closed her door, she heard him say: "You were crying."

With her back to the door, she took a deep breath and said: "I was."

"About today?"

Lucy sighed. Sliding down the door, she leaned against it. "About a lot of things."

"Like what?" he asked, and Lucy could have sworn she heard a hint of desperation in his voice.

"For a bit, I wasn't sure if you saving my life was a good thing," she whispered softly.

He was quiet for a minute, and then said: "And now?"

"I would have regretted it if it ended that day," Lucy murmured. "After all that work I did to keep myself alive up until then…to have it end there would have meant the mayor won."

"What do you mean?" Laxus said listlessly.

"He may or may not have wanted me to actually die, but he sure pushed me that far," Lucy mumbled. "If I kept standing up, no matter what he threw at me, I won in the end, because I didn't give in. And thanks to you, I'm still standing, even if I was ready to just stay down that day."

"How can you thank me when I put you in that situation?" Laxus's voice was full of self-loathing, and Lucy wished she could storm across the hall and set him straight, but she knew from her own experience that guilt didn't work like that.

"Whatever else I think of you, I know you wouldn't have willingly put me in that situation," she whispered.

"You must think pretty poorly of me if that's the best you can say," she heard him mutter, and then, a little louder: "I suppose that's something. Freed thinks that I would have done it anyway."

Lucy sighed. She hadn't spent too much time with Freed since she had been injured since he had been busy running the guild, but the little bit of time he had sat with her stood out. "He's…he's worried. You know, he still blames himself for Fantasia."

"Fantastic," Laxus mumbled. "All of my mistakes banding together."

"He feels it's his fault," she said quietly, knowing that this was between Freed and Laxus, but if the events of the day before had been an indication, the two of them weren't talking. "When it comes to Fantasia…he thinks that if he had only said something sooner, tried harder to talk you out of it, none of it would have happened. In my situation…if he had seen it, if he hadn't let me leave the room, if he had been there when we discussed the contract…my guess is, he's blaming himself and taking it out on you."

"What if I'm the one to blame?"

Lucy bit her lip. It wasn't a question she was ready to deal with right now; her own feelings too conflicted on the subject. "When I was helping to defeat the Oracian Seis during the Nirvana incident…Hibiki told me that negative feelings spring up from trying to define things in terms of good and bad…I think that in cases like this, we all want to blame someone, so we pick whoever is most convenient for us, without even bothering to make sure that it's the right person or not. Right now…I'm too close to it to attempt to be fair and objective. I've spent too much time lashing out at everyone recently and I don't want to just arbitrarily answer your question right now. I promise, someday, you can ask me again and I'll answer with what I feel is the truth. But not tonight."

"Are you trying to spare my feelings because you think that I'm depressed?" he growled, and Lucy sighed, remembering a similar response from her not too long ago.

"No, I'm trying to be honest and give a damn about the consequences of what I say for once," she grumbled. "Look…I blamed you for it a lot during those six months, and then more after I nearly died. But now that I'm not as angry all the time, I'm starting to wonder if I was wrong to blame everything on you. I'm just not at the point where I can make a fair decision yet. You of all people should understand not being ready to do something."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laxus grumbled.

"You're not ready to go back to the guild as its master," Lucy said bluntly. "You've spent the past week locked in your room doing your best Cana impression. I don't blame you for trying to cope that way, because I get trying to cope. Hell, I think there was a few times during that year where I tried to drink myself into oblivion because I thought it was easier than feeling. But you just wake up and remember everything and feel even worse. It takes time to get past that, and you weren't granted that luxury. But I'm not going to push you beyond making sure you get to the guild, because I know you need whatever you can get."

"If you think I'm not ready, why did you make me go back?" Laxus mumbled tentatively.

"Because the guild needs its master," Lucy said firmly. "We've been back for less than a year, and if you're not there, people start to get antsy. I'm sure your grandfather had his reasons, but he just up and disappeared on us after disbanding. So whether or not you're ready, you need to at least pretend to be a functioning human being. If it would help, I'd offer to lend you Gemini, but it would be counterproductive and the others are starting to be able to see through that particular ruse because they're suspicious of me. But one of the things my spirits said tonight was that you just have to keep moving forward, even if it hurts."

"Can you at least stop dragging Cobra over to make sure that I get to the guild okay?"

"Will you promise to actually _go_ to the guild?" Lucy retorted with a chuckle. _Apparently his male pride is taking a beating_.

"I promise," Laxus muttered. "You tired?"

Lucy was surprised. _Did he hear me yawn just now?_ "A bit."

"You should go to bed," he stated matter-of-factly. "Especially if you're still doing your day with Meredy and Angel tomorrow."

"Goodnight Laxus," Lucy said softly, getting up from the floor. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Lucy," he said just as softly. "And I'm glad you're still among us."

*****Well, the spirits all appeared. And Lucy and Laxus are making some progress together. Next chapter will be big. I haven't decided what I'm going to post when I'm done with this, mainly because the sequel and the CoLu aren't quite where I want them. The sequel especially has these wonderful "lore" bits that I need to work out the mechanics for. And the CoLu got put on hold because the sequel was eating me up. We'll see.*****


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty:**

Laxus watched the girl quietly as she sparred with her spirits. Under the moonlight, she looked like the faeries that their guild was named after, her blonde hair seeming to sparkle, her skin glowing, seemingly unmarked from this distance. Capricorn stood off to the side while she and Loke fought, her movements so graceful she could have been dancing. When she jumped up and used Loke's shoulders to brace herself for a flip, he swore she flew.

As her legs wrapped around Loke's waist and her hands around his throat, Laxus heard Capricorn call a halt. The pair separated, and the moment was over. Laxus moved to fall back into the shadows by his window, knowing that when she wrapped up her training she usually returned and showered before being in bed by midnight. A voice from outside called to him though, and he padded quietly through the darkened house to join Lucy outside.

When he emerged, she was lying in the grass, looking up at the stars. Loke and Capricorn had gone, leaving the two of them alone. "Lie down," she murmured, her eyes fixed on the stars. "It's hard to talk with you looming over me."

Obediently, he lay down near her, careful not to settle on her hair since it had spread out below her like a blanket. They hadn't talked very much recently, since he had been busy with guild matters and she had been trying to make progress in her recovery.

"I talked with Grey and Erza today," she murmured quietly.

He had smelled them in the house when he returned, but hadn't wanted to make a big deal out of it. The scent had been mixed with tears, but it was all jumbled together so he wasn't able to figure out who had been crying or when. "Oh?"

"They were the last people I felt I needed to talk to about…about what happened." Her voice faltered for a moment, but she continued steadily. "But most of all, I wanted to talk to them about how they left, and how I felt about it. Erza…I understood why she went, and she did try to keep in touch. Grey just disappeared though. He told us why, and I get it now. Tartarus left too many scars on us…took too many people we loved away from us. None of us were quite…_whole_ when we returned to what was left of the guild hall. Just so you know, he's going to be away tomorrow. Him and Juvia both. They have a place to visit."

Laxus nodded. The second anniversary of Tartarus's attack…it held different meanings to different people. If the ice mage and his companion had their own way to remember, who was he to get in the way?

"I think we all cried today," Lucy murmured, still looking up at the stars. "We've all been hurting for so long, keeping things locked inside in an attempt to make them go away that it was a relief to just left everything spill out. But I'm ready now. Or almost ready anyway."

Laxus nodded, turning his eyes to face the stars himself. He could only pick out a few of the constellations, but he was willing to bet that Lucy could tell him about each and every set of stars in the sky, seeing her friends among them.

"There's only one more person I want to make things right with," Lucy said, and he could hear her shifting. Looking over, he saw that she had rolled over to face him. "We need to talk."

"What about?" he muttered, feeling as if he wanted to run away. He could only imagine what she had to say to him if she had been talking to her teammates about Tartarus and its aftermath earlier.

"Remember when you asked me if you were to blame?"

"You told me to ask you again someday, and you'd answer me then," he said, recalling the conversation they had three months before.

Lucy sighed, and he was caught by the movement of her tattoo. She caught his glance and smiled wryly. "What do you see?"

"Your scars…" he mumbled softly. "And my failure."

"That's funny," she said quietly. "I used to see my own failure. But not anymore."

Turning to face her, he saw her brush her fingers across her stomach, and he realized that she was only wearing a sports bra and shorts. "What do you see now?"

"Lessons learned," she whispered, touching one of her scars. "Promises made." Her fingers moved to brush across her tattoo. "New friends," she hummed, touching the barely visible scars on her wrists. "As much as their creation was painful, I've had an equal measure of happiness, if not more. Erza and Grey are home now. Crime Sorciere gained a home, and I got to know them and the Raijinshu. I was able to watch Cobra and Kinana fall in love…I got to know you, at least a little."

He didn't know where she was going with her topic, so he just stayed quiet and let her continue. Lucy rolled over onto her back again and looked up at the stars, fingers idly tracing Aquarius's tattoo.

"I know I mentioned that Aquarius's key was broken during the battle with Tartarus," Lucy said softly. "But I didn't tell you everything. _I_ broke her key that day, to summon the Spirit King. It's the only way to do so, and I was the only one standing at that point. Desperate to save everyone, I summoned her, even though I already had Loke and Virgo out. She told me how to summon the Spirit King, and that he was the only one who could save everyone. So I broke her key and summoned him. Aquarius's gate is lost forever now. Her power rests in me for now, although I don't know why, and this tattoo is the symbol. After that day…I made a promise that I would never let that happen again, even though she's told me time and time again that she chose to sacrifice herself, and would do it again and again if necessary. But when the guild disbanded…I was hurting and guilty. The contract only hurt more, especially since now I was all alone. And when the contract was broken…all of that anger had nothing keeping it at bay anymore. I hurt a lot of people in those early days when I was recovering, but I figure I've hurt you most of all."

"How do you figure that?" he whispered, surprised. He had known that whatever had happened to Aquarius had hurt Lucy, but he hadn't ever imagined that she would have broken the key herself. One of the things that everyone learned very quickly when they met Lucy was that Celestial Spirits were just like people, and they felt the same pain. For Lucy to have broken the key…it must have nearly destroyed her. Yet here she was, saying that she hurt him.

"During those six months when I was contracted to the mayor…I could have said something. All I had to do was open my mouth, tell you the day you asked me, tell _anyone_ afterwards…but I didn't. I was too damn proud, and too damn bitter. For over a year, I'd been fighting and hurting and there was nobody there for me, so I figured that if anyone really cared about me, they would be able to figure it out. I conveniently forgot that I was _really_ good at hiding what was going on, and when people didn't say anything to me I felt justified in being hurt and angry. Then, when someone _did_ see, I was angry at them for helping, angry at them for trying to care and getting in my way. Such a contradiction…and such a fool."

"You were hurting," Laxus began, but Lucy cut him off, her voice low and fierce.

"Don't make excuses for me," she hissed, rolling over to face him again. "Not when you bore the brunt of everything. What happened to me in general was the mayor's fault, but at any moment over those six months, I could have opened my mouth, asked for help, and it would have been over. But I kept it shut, let myself get bitter and angry, and when you saved my _life_, what did you get? Every single person in that guild blamed you and I let them. For the past five months, I have _let_ them be angry at you for my sake, and that wasn't fair. Not to them and not to you. So here I am, apologizing to you. I'm sorry Laxus, I'm so very sorry."

He was stunned by her logic, and her sincerity would have knocked him off his feet if he was standing. Ever since she had nearly died at the guild, he had been questioning what he could have done, how he could have done better by her…but here she was, taking all of the blame. "Don't exonerate me just like that," he whispered hoarsely. "I should have asked at the very beginning what the contract was about. All those months…I could tell something was off, tell something was wrong. I just never said anything. As your guild leader, as your nakama…I shouldn't have put you into that situation without understanding it. And I should have said something when I saw that things were wrong. The others can be forgiven for not knowing, but it's my responsibility to know. Especially when it involves the guild. What would have happened if Freed hadn't found you that day? You wouldn't have just lost your keys; the guild's debt would have come crashing down on us. They could have come in and taken whatever they wanted to pay the debt, and I wouldn't even know what was going on until it was too late. So even if there wasn't a human cost to the contract, I shouldn't have let you sign the contract without knowing what was in it."

She chuckled lightly. "Looks as if we're both clinging to the blame," she whispered, and he caught the scent of tears in the night breezes. "Want to agree to share it?"

"If that's what you want," he murmured, for the first time wondering if maybe she was right, and it wasn't completely his fault. The thought was freeing, and he felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

"I'm going to tell the guild tomorrow," she said quietly, and he sat up in shock.

"What?"

Lucy sat up and looked him in the eye. "I'm going to the guild tomorrow. And I'm going to tell them everything I just told you. I've hurt you long enough with this, it's time I made things right."

"But…" If she was going to tell the guild, she was going to have to go _to_ the guild.

She seemed to be able to read his thoughts. "I'm ready," she said, hand nervously combing through her hair as it fell into her lap. "I touched the doors yesterday. Waiting any longer won't do anyone any good."

"Why tomorrow though? Take another day, when it won't be as busy." He knew for a fact that Mira was planning a celebration of the first year of his tenure as master and the defeat of Tartarus. The guild would be in full form, and he thought that someone had mentioned visitors from other guilds might be coming by.

"I've put this off for far too long," Lucy said softly, looking up at him. "Tomorrow may even be the best day for it. It's the anniversary of your becoming master. An explanation about my circumstances will clear any misunderstandings away."

Laxus sighed. He could tell from the determination in her eyes that she wouldn't give in. He admired her attitude, recovered from her slump after she nearly died. _If things had been different…if she had faced Flare, or Minerva, or Tartarus as she is now…they would have had a hell of a time beating her. She never gives up, never gives in, and always puts her nakama before her._ "You should have become Master," he murmured.

Smiling slightly, she shook her head. "I'm too soft," she said regretfully. "And I don't _want_ to be Master. I just want to be able to be there for my family. They're what keeps me going, what kept me going during that year. If you had come home and the guild building hadn't been there to welcome you…I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I could have done something about it. And the title of Master rightfully belongs to you, no matter what. You're the person we want to lead us into the future. During that year…" Lucy's voice trailed off, and he smelled the tears again.

"What is it?" he asked, hesitantly reaching out to her.

"It's nothing," she said softly, squeezing his hand gently. "You'll find out tomorrow. For now though, we need to get to bed. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow, and we'll both need everything we have to deal with it."

He watched her stand and make her way to the house, and thought: _She _is_ Fairy Tail. From here on out, I swear I will never let one of my nakama be hurt again if there is anything I can do to prevent it. She gave a year and a half of her life for her nakama without a second thought. That type of selfless love for your family…let mine become the same. Even now, I'm still learning where I went wrong all those years ago. Mavis, Gramps…help me be as strong as you both are and as kind as she is._

*****Well, I've been planning this chapter for a long time. And I still sniffle at the end. These two needed to finally talk honestly about their issues without anyone or anything in the way. Just as Lucy needed to talk with Erza and Grey honestly and openly. We're starting towards the end now, with only seven more chapters. Oh, and if there's a few more issues or delays than usual, my beta's schedule is picking up, so it may be harder for her to get the chapters done. Especially 37, since I'm still rewriting it...**

**Next chapter, a special guest! Although, if anyone guesses this guest, I'll be surprised.*****


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One:**

When she felt hands shaking her awake, Lucy was confused. She had asked Horologium to wake her, had been relying on him for _months_. Laxus didn't enter her room without permission, not unless he thought she had collapsed. So who was waking her up?

Opening her eyes, she was ready to tell Loke that she didn't need him mothering her today, or remind Virgo that she was trying to be self-sufficient, but all of her rebukes flew out the window when she saw the familiar blue hair.

Throwing herself at the intruder, she felt the tears coming to her eyes as she wrapped her arms tightly around the thin form. "I thought I would never see you again! How did you get here?"

"It's good to see you too Lucy," Aquarius whispered, holding Lucy tightly. "I know that today's going to be rough for you, so I begged the Spirit King to open my gate for me on today of all days."

"So it's just for today?" As soon as the words were out, Lucy regretted them. Getting to see Aquarius this one time was more than she ever expected. She should treasure it for what it was.

Aquarius drew back slightly, a tiny smile on her face. "I was granted four days with you. Since I was there the day you were born, His Majesty granted me the right to be there the day you die as well. Not many spirits have that privilege, and he wanted to honor your lifelong commitment to us. Because of your mother's passing, he granted me passage on the day you marry, and the day you give birth to your firstborn. And because of…because my key was broken to save your friends and you nearly died to save your spirits, he granted me the right to be there when you return to the guild. So here I am."

Looking at her oldest spirit, Lucy raised her eyebrows. "I see you've foregone your usual outfit," she commented, seeing her spirit in a flowing skirt and a halter top that covered the place where her tattoo would be. "You know, Cana barely wears any more than you do on a usual day and nobody minds."

"I know," Aquarius muttered, blushing slightly. "But Virgo said it would look cute, and I wanted to cover up the tattoo in case you didn't want people asking about it."

"You look _fabulous_," Lucy whispered, hugging her spirit again. "Is there anything I should know while you're here?"

"His Majesty says that you can't use my magic while I'm here, and you should go easy on your own. He didn't quite explain how he got me here. Oh, and if you keep dressing like that, you'll never get a boyfriend," Aquarius chuckled as Lucy stuck her tongue out.

"If you missed the memo, I had a bit of an issue with buttons and zippers, so my wardrobe was limited to what stretched," Lucy growled, getting up. "If you have that opinion though, why don't you pick out my outfit while I shower? Oh, and I reserve the right to reject whatever you choose, so don't make me look like an idiot."

After her shower, a prolonged discussion of the benefits of sea salt in one's beauty regime, and a long argument over Aquarius trying to force Lucy to wear matching clothes, they were in the middle of trying to style Lucy's hair when Laxus knocked on the door.

"What is it?" Lucy called, wincing as Aquarius tugged at a tangle.

"I made breakfast, since you seem to be moving slowly this morning. Remember, you can stay here if you want to."

"I'm coming," she called, yelping as Aquarius hit another snarl. "Jeez, take it easy!"

"What?" Laxus said, sounding confused. "Lucy, are you okay?"

"Yes!" she cried, glaring at Aquarius as the spirt continued to pull the comb through her hair. "Just some hair difficulties."

"Do you need me to brush it again?" he asked, and she heard his hand on the doorknob.

"No! I've got it!" she yelled, fighting the urge to wince again as Aquarius found yet _another_ tangle. "Really! And if you need to leave and I'm not ready, go ahead and go. I'll follow behind!"

"If you say so," he said, and she could hear the doubt in his voice as he moved away from her door.

"You had a man brush your hair?" Aquarius asked, finishing a section of Lucy's hair and starting on another part.

"Did you miss that?" Lucy said. "He washed it too."

"Really?" Aquarius said, pulling the comb through a new snarl. "So while I've been gone, you've moved in with a man, and he's washed and brushed your hair for you. Now he's making you breakfast. You move fast."

"It's been two years," Lucy snapped, fighting the urge to take the comb away from her spirt. "And I'm only here because I had nowhere else to go. The hair thing…remember my _injuries_?"

Aquarius chuckled, and stepped back. "Now, I think that we should put your hair up like this…"

Laxus had already left for the guild by the time they emerged, and in a way Lucy was glad. She wasn't sure she wanted to deal with explanations on this day of all days. Turning to Aquarius as they walked towards town, she said: "I hope you don't mind, but I'm just going to call you my friend today. Too many explanations otherwise."

"You just don't want me to steal your limelight," Aquarius grumbled good naturedly, until she nearly tripped on a tree root. "I give up! I want to go back to the water. You humans were crazy to ever want legs."

Lucy laughed, but she pointed to the buildings in front of them. "We're almost to the town now. The roads there will be even. No guarantees for the guild though. We tend to leave things lying around, especially on busy days like today."

As the pair approached the guild, Lucy sighed when the noise could be heard from blocks away. "It's just after ten in the morning," she complained to Aquarius, who laughed. "Why can't we be normal?"

"Look at it this way," her spirit pointed out. "The crazier they are, the more likely you'll be able to fly under the radar if you want too. No pressure."

"I guess so," Lucy said, twining her arm through Aquarius's. She didn't want to admit it, but the thought of returning to the guild made her nervous. Touching the doors yesterday had been a battle of wills, trying to convince her legs to keep her there instead of running away, but she was determined to be there on this of all days.

When they reached the doors, Lucy rested her hand on the sun-warmed wood. "Are you ready?" she asked, not sure which one of them the question was meant for.

"You might want to make up your mind," Aquarius said sharply. "From the noise I hear, someone might get thrown out of here soon."

"Good point," Lucy said with a gulp. "Okay, first order of business is to get to Laxus's office. He'll want to know I made it here, and I can introduce you as my friend who came to visit."

Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door just enough for the two of them to move through, and then slipped into the shadows at the edge of the room. In true Fairy Tail style, a full fledged brawl had erupted in the center. It was hard to tell, but she thought she could see Elfman wrestling with Jet, and someone who looked like Droy was having their hair pulled by Macao…a normal day in the guild. Gajeel and Levy were in their corner, and Lucy thought she saw Gajeel glance their way, but he didn't comment. They managed to make it to the stairs without being noticed, and Lucy led the way to Laxus's office.

When she heard the muffled "Come in," response to her knock, she opened the door, dragging Aquarius with her. What she didn't expect was for Laxus to have Freed and the rest of the Raijinshu in the office with him. Frozen in the doorway, she stared at the assembled group for a minute before Aquarius shoved her from behind.

Regaining her composure, she approached Laxus's desk. "As promised, I made it here," Lucy said, proud that her voice didn't stutter. Aquarius's presence was soothing behind her, and she turned to the Raijinshu and smiled. "Hi guys, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

Bickslow was the first to break the silence, but he was staring over her shoulder at Aquarius. "Freed?" he murmured softly.

"I know," the rune mage said, turning to Laxus. "Master, this is…"

Laxus smiled softly. "I know who it is. Welcome to Fairy Tail Aquarius. It is my honor to have you here. I've heard of all that you've done over the years for this guild, and I would like to thank you for always watching over Lucy."

Moving to stand beside Lucy, Aquarius smiled. "It is an honor to be here," she said formally. "If I might ask something of you?"

"Of course," Laxus said. "What is it?"

Aquarius took a deep breath. "Leo, the leader of the twelve zodiac keys, bears the mark of Fairy Tail. If you would permit it, I would also like to join Fairy Tail, in honor of my greatest master."

"Where would you like your stamp?" Laxus asked, reaching into his drawer. "And what color?"

"On my stomach," Aquarius said, pulling up her top. "In the same blue as my hair if possible."

"Done," Laxus said, moving around the desk to place the stamp. "I take it you were the reason Lucy was yelling this morning?"

"She had too many tangles in her hair," Aquarius shrugged. "Someone had to do something."

As the Raijinshu chuckled, Laxus said: "We're remembering the defeat of Tartarus today as a guild. Would you like to be recognized? It's my understanding that you played a crucial role in our victory."

"I will simply be one of Lucy's friends today," Aquarius said, linking her arm with Lucy's. "She can decide."

"We'll keep it low key on this front," Lucy said softly. "She's here only for today."

"If you don't mind me asking, Miss Aquarius," Freed said cautiously. "But is it possible to use your key despite its condition?"

Aquarius shook her head, and Lucy could feel her sigh. "I was granted the right to return to this world on four occasions, today being one of them. Whether or not you will be at the others is unknown, but it could be that this is our last meeting."

"Lucy?" Laxus said, drawing the attention back to him. "When would you like to have your discussion with the guild?"

"Everyone should be here for that," Lucy murmured. "Do you know if they are yet?"

"Since we started the open bar at ten this morning, I think everyone was here by nine-thirty," Evergreen snickered.

"Crime Sorciere hasn't arrived yet," Laxus replied. "Other than Juvia and Grey, who you told me were going to miss anyway, and Natsu and Gildarts, who just haven't returned yet, everyone's accounted for. Oh, the Sabertooth delegation hasn't shown yet either."

"Bacchus was here at nine," Bickslow muttered.

"I guess I better just get it over with," Lucy said, looking at Laxus. "Can we do it now?"

"Of course," he said. "Want to make it from up here, so you can run if you need to?"

"Please," she said, leaning into Aquarius. "I don't need everyone glomping me today."

Heading for his office door, Laxus looked over his shoulder at Freed. "Since they're brawling, can I _please_ shock them? Or have Ever turn the lot into stone?"

"No," Freed said flatly. "Wendy shouldn't have to treat the lot of them today."

Sighing, Laxus opened the office door. "Oi, you lot! Listen up!" His words were punctuated by a thunderclap that scared everyone who had been fighting into silence. When they were all looking up at the second floor balcony, he said: "It's been quite a year, hasn't it? A couple of pretty big things happened, and we're still dealing with them. But there's someone here who wants to say a few things about the biggest one, so you lot better listen up without interrupting. And the first person to try and get up here while this is going on is going to spend the rest of the day working at the bar for Mira, so keep that in mind."

Turning to Lucy, he whispered: "The floor's all yours."

*****Well, it's a bit short, but I wanted the next chapter to stand on it's own. To the reviewer who guessed Aquarius would return, good for you! Next chapter we get to hear what Lucy wants to say, hang out with some friends, and see the resolution to this little arc. And after that, lots of fun!**

**I've made some progress on the lore for the sequel, and in terms of the CoLu, I haven't made forward progress from where I stopped writing, but I keep writing scenes that are significantly far ahead. So it's a coin flip which one comes out first.*****


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two:**

Stepping forward so that the members assembled on the ground floor could see her, Lucy wondered how she would begin. Would what she had to say make any difference, or was it already too late? Murmurs and whispers rose up towards her as her nakama realized that it was _her_, and Lucy felt the tremors of fear run up and down her spine.

Almost as if she knew, Aquarius reached out and put her hand lightly on Lucy's back, the touch grounding Lucy, giving her the courage to take a breath and begin.

"It's been a long time," she said quietly, but all heads swiveled up to look at her. "I have several things to say to you, and the first…this is the first day I've been back to the guild since…since the day I almost died. Gemini has come in my stead since then, because I wasn't ready to face everyone yet."

"I have been cruel to all of you. Since the day I nearly died, I said horrible things to many of you, and through my silence, created many hurtful wounds that have yet to heal. But out of everyone, I have been cruelest to Laxus Dreyar, the Master of our guild."

"Two years ago, I willingly signed a contract and placed my keys as collateral. My only obligations were to appear when summoned and complete the work requested of me, and in return, our home would be rebuilt and remain ours. In the beginning, the summons were fair, but as time passed, the situation had become increasingly unfair. When Laxus returned, I was freed from the contract, but the mayor was not satisfied, and he used Laxus's ignorance of the situation to make me sign the contract again. This lasted for six months, until Laxus arranged for my contract to be settled because I was nearly dead. Upon waking up, I lashed out at everyone who came near me and sunk into my own anger and bitterness."

"Like many of you, the disbandment of Fairy Tail left me hurting and angry. Everyone here, and those who have yet to return, is my family, and after Tartarus, we needed each other. Unfortunately, circumstances forced us to separate, and I elected to remain here in case something happened. But because of this choice, I was left completely alone, with only my spirits to support me. Tartarus was the most difficult fight I have ever found myself in…and it left its mark on me. For the year that we scattered, I nursed my wounds, and I allowed myself to grow bitter. As my situation grew worse, the bitterness grew stronger. When everyone returned, I was not the person I had been, and many of you knew that. Yet I didn't let you guys in, instead choosing to bury my bitterness deep inside and suffer in silence, while all the while growing angry that nobody saw how much I was suffering and tried to reach out. All the while conveniently forgetting that I wasn't letting you see."

"It all came to the forefront when I nearly died. Suddenly I felt as if I had nothing to hide, and I was also faced with the concept of having a future of my own choosing, for the first time since Tartarus. But what kind of a future could I have without my team? I asked myself as I lay there. I suddenly had to make my own decisions, instead of living based solely on the contract's whims. It was terrifying. So all of my anger, fear, and bitterness poured out, and in doing so, I did all of you a great deal of harm."

"My words were cruel, and for that I apologize to each and every member of the guild. But it was the things I _didn't_ say that still hurt us."

"Laxus Dreyar's only involvement in the matter of my contract was in agreeing that I would be allowed to take it on. What we all conveniently ignore is that I could have chosen _not_ to sign the contract. I could have chosen to tell Laxus what I would be signing myself into. During those six months, I could have said anything to any person in this guild, and I know that they would have done their best to help me in whatever way I needed. But I said nothing, did nothing, and let the events run their course. Afterwards, I knew that many of you blamed Laxus for putting me in the situation in the first place, but I did nothing to dissuade you of that fact and even supported it. For me…it was easier to assign all of the blame to him. _He should have done better_, I told myself. _He shouldn't have asked me, he should have read the contract…_that type of thinking has led to him taking the entire share of the blame, when it should most likely be split between the two of us. He claims that he should have made sure he knew the details of my contract, and I'll grant him that, but I always had the power to make it stop. I was just too proud, and too bitter to do so."

"All during the year we were scattered, I had faith that Laxus would return and bring our nakama home. It was just a matter of time. No matter what happened, I never lost sight of that faith, even though the people around me doubted and the evidence pointed to the contrary. Since he has returned, except for the slight lapse in judgement made because he trusted me to make decisions that were good for me, he has faithfully served this guild and done nothing to betray our faith in him. I am proud to call him both my nakama and guild master, and I hope that he feels the same."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy could see that Laxus looked completely blown away by her comments. Sucking in a breath, she said: "And that's everything I wanted to say. Thank you for listening. And…I'm sorry."

She didn't know if her words reached her guild mates as she stood there, desperate to run away yet bound to her place. When she had finally made her peace with everything, she had known that she needed to tell the others what had really happened. Lucy could see in Laxus's face that their nakama hadn't forgiven him, could see it in the tension present in his shoulders each evening when he returned from the guild. And that was her fault. This was the only way she could think of to make things right in as short a time as possible. He had suffered too much already from her groundless anger.

A flicker of motion caught her eye, and she focused on the crowd below, and saw Kinana standing there, her hand raised in the familiar Fairy Tail sign. Like ripples on a pond, the sign spread through the crowd and up onto the second floor. Slowly, one by one, the Raijinshu raised their hands, Aquarius among them, until only Laxus was left. Smiling softly, he raised his hand, and Lucy wanted to cry. Finally, for the first time in two years, she felt like she was home.

"Well, I think that cleared up a lot of things," Laxus said, moving back to the railing to stand beside Lucy. "I don't really have much to say after that, except that I wish it had never happened in the first place, and I promise you, it won't ever happen again. Now, today is a day to remember what happened two years ago, and to celebrate that Fairy Tail endures. Every time someone tries, we're the ones still standing in the end. So let's remember those we've lost over the years, both as part of Tartarus and before, and let's celebrate the friends who stand beside us. This day is for Fairy Tail: past, present, and future!"

An answering roar came from the first floor, and the crowd dispersed. Laxus, Lucy, and the Raijinshu watched from the balcony as the others returned to drinking, brawling, and laughing.

"It seems as if we're finally back to normal," Freed said, with a small smile.

"Nah, not until Natsu comes back and starts breaking things." Bickslow chuckled, his babies chanting the last two words as they danced around his head.

At that moment the doors flew open, and Lucy held her breath as she wondered if the seith mage's words had been a prediction, but the figure that stomped in was blonde haired, instead of the familiar salmon that she hadn't seen for two years.

"The party already started?" Sting shouted as he looked around with what could only be described as _unbridled joy_. "Let's kick it up a notch!" With that, he threw himself headfirst into the brawl that had erupted in the middle of the guild hall.

In unison, the occupants of the second floor sighed. "Well, maybe it's a good thing Natsu hasn't returned," Freed said pragmatically.

"We don't need two of them," Evergreen agreed.

"I suppose it's a good thing I don't have my magic," Aquarius murmured, eyes narrowing.

"That kid might even be worse," Bickslow commented as he watched Sting get into a wrestling match with Elfman. "Natsu at least knows not to go near Erza and her cake. One misplaced punch and…"

"And people think _I'm_ a questionable guild master?" Laxus muttered.

"Sting has been told several times to act in a manner befitting a guild master," a voice said from the top of the stairs. The small group turned to see who it was, and saw Rogue and Yukino standing there, arm in arm. "I personally have warned him _not_ to cause a disruption today of all days, and therefore, you may dole out punishment as you see fit, Laxus-san. I assure you, Sabertooth would appreciate it."

"Lucy!" Yukino cried, distangling herself from Rogue. "I haven't heard from you in forever! Freed let me know that you were recovering nicely, but not much else. And what happened to Aquarius? The guild called and mentioned that something had happened to her key…Libra and Pisces won't tell me anything, they say it's for you to tell me."

As she was hugged by the girl, Lucy wondered how she could explain things. "Her key…Yukino, have you ever heard of a wizard summoning the Spirit King?"

"I didn't even know he has a key," Yukino said in awe. "Are you saying that someone could summon him?"

Swallowing hard, Lucy said: "He doesn't have a key. The way to summon him…I'm not going to tell you, because it should be a last resort. If you ever needed it, I'm sure that one of your spirits would tell you. But it has a high price, one that I'm not willing to pay, ever again."

Yukino's eyes widened, and then she stiffened. "Lucy?" she whispered, looking over the blonde's shoulder. "Is that…?"

Turning slightly, Lucy saw that the Raijinshu had shifted slightly, exposing Aquarius to the visitors from Sabertooth. Turning back to her friend, she knew that the other Celestial mage had recognized the distinctive blue hair of the zodiac spirit. "Just for today," Lucy said softly. "Special permission was granted."

Moving past Lucy, Yukino bowed to Aquarius. "Thank you for taking care of her," the girl murmured. "Lucy told me about how you and Cancer practically raised her after her mother died."

"It was our pleasure," Aquarius said softly, bowing slightly to Yukino. "Thank you for being such a kind master to my friends. We have had many masters over the decades, but for the zodiacs to be held by the two of you…we don't have to fight our friends any more, and if we did, we know that neither of you would want us too. If I could ask…when the time comes, please make sure that your keys pass to someone like you?"

Yukino smiled. "Of course, Aquarius-sama. Hopefully, my child will be a celestial mage who is worthy to carry my keys."

Turning to grasp Lucy's hand, Yukino said: "Libra did tell me that if something happened to you, I was supposed to get your keys. I want you to know that I don't ever want your keys, because if that's true, something would have happened to you. So listen right now Lucy Heartfilia. Don't you ever send me your keys, or I'll do whatever it takes to bring you back and kill you myself!"

Lucy pulled her friend into a hug. "I won't," she whispered. "I promise."

"Rogue-san?" Kinana's quiet voice prompted the two celestial mages to look up. "Mira told me to ask you to be ready to restrain Sting-sama. We're about to have visitors that I'm not sure he'll understand and might attack first and ask questions later."

Laxus looked confused, but took a breath as the girl tapped her head. Grinning, he turned to Rogue. "Since you three last visited, we had a group of ex-criminals join. All of them have been pardoned of course, but I never know who's aware of that fact and who isn't."

"Very well," Rogue looked confused, but to his credit, he simply moved into the shadows. "He should properly greet you as well. That should give us a head start." Moving to look over the balcony, he called out: "Sting! Come up and properly greet Laxus _before_ you destroy his guild hall."

Bounding up the stairs, the master of Sabertooth slid to a stop in front of the gathered mages, causing Lucy to flinch and Yukino, Aquarius, and Kinana to glare. With a toothy grin that made Lucy's heart ache as she remembered Natsu, he turned to Laxus and said: "Hey man, good to see you again! You guys always have the best parties, but ours are getting better. How's life as a guild master? I heard about that mess with the mayor of Magnolia. Good thing the Council's back up and running, eh?"

The Fairy Tail members stiffened at the mention of what happened to Lucy, but Sting rattled on as if he didn't notice, addressing Rogue and Laxus with a slightly more serious tone. "Do you two smell that? Kinda burns, but not like Natsu. It's something different…I feel like I've smelled it before, but I can't figure out where."

"The Grand Magic Games, two years ago," Laxus said, recovering smoothly. "You smell one of our new members, Cobra, formerly of the Oracian Seis. He's the other second generation slayer. Doranbolt managed to get him released just for that day so he could help with the dragon problem. By the way, we've added the rest of his guild and two other former criminals to our ranks, so I hope you're not alarmed when they arrive."

"I didn't hear that the Oracian Seis were released," Sting said, scratching his head. "When did that happen?"

"After the attack on the Magic Council that led to the final battle with Tartarus a bit later. They joined the independent guild, Crime Sorciere, and a few months ago, the entire guild joined Fairy Tail. Sabertooth should have received…"

"Laxus-sama," Freed interjected smoothly. "We ended up only notifying the guilds who formed the alliance about the change in membership. They were the only ones who might have a capture-on-sight reaction if they came across one of the former Oracian Seis. And you were busy dealing with guild matters during the regional meeting two months ago, so you weren't able to announce it to everyone there."

"That's right, you _were_ busy!" Sting said cheerfully, slinging his arm around Rogue's shoulders. "All the old geezers were really annoying and I wished that you were there so I wasn't the only one under the age of forty and with a sense of humor."

Rogue untangled himself. "Sting, they were only 'annoying' because you attempted to play practical jokes the entire time. And you turned all of your documents into paper airplanes." Turning to Laxus, he said: "What type of dragon slayer is Cobra? I don't think I've ever heard of a seventh dragon slayer, although it does explain the events of the battle against the dragons."

"Cobra's the poison dragon slayer," Laxus said, and Lucy could see that he had shifted to watch both Sting and the door. "Between being in a dark guild and then being in jail, most people didn't get a chance to learn about his dragon slayer magic."

"Is he more like Natsu, or Gajeel?" Sting asked, watching the door excitedly.

"Gajeel," Laxus said firmly. "But perhaps more like me. You won't get him to fight you, not today at least. Wendy's also on strict orders _not_ to heal anyone today, so she can actually enjoy the celebration and not pass out after using up all of her magic patching up everyone who got injured brawling, so I would keep that in mind."

"Duly noted Laxus-san," Rogue said, reaching out to grasp Sting's collar. "We'll be on our best behavior."

Sting pouted, but his face lit up as the guild doors opened. "So these are the newbies," he murmured, and Lucy saw Rogue noticeably tighten his grip on the blonde man. Beside her, Yukino sighed. "He misses Natsu," she muttered.

Cobra must have been keeping the others updated on the progress of the conversation inside the guild, because when the former Crime Sorciere entered the guild, he and Jellal climbed the stairs to join the steadily growing group that took refuge on the second floor. By the time they finally reached the top of the stairs, Sting was nearly drooling with excitement, despite Rogue all but choking him with his shirt collar.

"Good morning," Jellal said quietly. "I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Mystogun. You may have seen me at the Grand Magic Games two years ago. During the seven year gap, I founded Crime Sorciere, but put it on hold to help Fairy Tail at the Grand Magic Games. Afterwards, I returned to leading my guild until we decided to join Fairy Tail permanently a few months ago."

"Weren't all of Fairy Tail's S-class wizards on Tenrou though?" Sting asked, turning his attention on the man. "How come you weren't?"

Jellal, to his credit, simply shrugged. "Master Makarov knew that I liked to wander and do things on my own time. He hadn't counted me as an examiner for the S-class trials since I became S-class. That year was no different. I didn't even know that the trials were occurring until words spread of the loss."

Rogue arched his eyebrow, but seemed content to let it be. Sting turned his attention to Cobra next, but before he could open his mouth, the irritable slayer growled: "You've already been told that I'm not going to fight you, and hopefully you'll listen when I say it. _I'm not going to fight you_. End of discussion. Kinana, Mira's going to call you in a minute."

Kinana nodded with a smile. "Lucy, why don't you and your friend come sit behind the bar with Mira and I? It may get a bit busy, but you'll be out of the way of all the fights that are going on. Plus you'll get to see everyone."

Nervous, Lucy nodded. Yukino hugged her one last time, and Aquarius put her hand on her shoulder. "I'll be right here," she whispered in Lucy's ear. Exchanging looks with Cobra, Kinana headed down the stairs, Lucy and Aquarius behind her. Hearing an extra set of footsteps behind them, Lucy looked back to see Cobra following.

"She asked me to make sure you weren't attacked before we got there," he muttered, blushing slightly and the smile Kinana sent towards him.

"Oh," Lucy murmured, looking at the chaos in front of her. "Thanks."

With Cobra's help, they made it to the bar in one piece. It wasn't _too_ much of a struggle, since the poison dragon slayer was afforded as much respect as Laxus or Erza when it came to not involving him in the brawls without his consent, but he did have to redirect Max when the sand mage was sent flying out of the center of the brawl, nearly taking out the three women in the process. Cobra swatted him back to the brawl as easily as if the man was a volleyball, and they continued to the bar, unmolested and in good spirits.

Mira was busy serving when they arrived, and Kinana grabbed her apron, pointing to a chair and saying: "You can sit there. I put it back there for Midnight, so he wouldn't get woken up when the brawling got too close to him, but he never uses it. Nobody should bother you there, but if you want to talk, you'll see everyone."

Taking her seat, Lucy looked at Aquarius. "Do you want to sit too?"

"I rarely get to stand," Aquarius said wryly. "For now, I'll continue to experiment with legs."

Cobra snickered as he took a seat at the bar, in the only quiet corner there was. It didn't stay quiet for long though, because Erza descended upon the corner. "Lucy, it's good to see you. I didn't know that you were coming today. You didn't say anything when we were over yesterday."

"I didn't know for sure if I would make it or not," Lucy said, smiling as Kinana slid a piece of cake in front of the redhead. "I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up."

"Your speech was very nice," Erza said softly, taking a bite of the cake. "But was there any particular reason for it? I thought most people at the guild knew what happened."

"Just parts of it," Lucy murmured, looking around at the boisterous guild. "I didn't want them to keep blaming Laxus though…he had it hard enough without dealing with the others when it comes to what happened. The easiest way was to just explain the whole thing."

Erza glared at the brawling mass as Droy crashed into the bar, causing her glass to shake. "Sometimes I think that Natsu's switched places with Sting. I swear, he only comes here to destroy things."

Lucy giggled. "He hasn't asked either you or Laxus for a fight though, so I'm pretty sure that it's actually Sting. And there's no way Happy could disguise himself as Lector. If it was Happy, he wouldn't be just sitting with Carla and Lily, commentating, he'd be offering Carla fish or over here insulting me."

"That's true," Levy sang, sliding onto the stool next to Erza. "Hey Lu-chan! Who's your friend?"

Biting her lip, Lucy traded glances with Aquarius before saying: "This is Halley. She's visiting for the day. I knew her from before Fairy Tail, and she heard rumors about what happened to me and wanted to make sure I was okay. She's not a mage though, so she won't join the guild."

Aquarius arched her eyebrow, as if to say: _Halley? What brought that on?_

Lucy shrugged in return. It was the only thing she could think of, since Halley's Comet originated from the area around Aquarius's constellation. Luckily enough, Erza and Levy seemed to buy it, and the bluenette said: "It's nice to meet you Halley-san! I'd say that the guild isn't normally like this…but this is actually pretty normal for us. If Natsu were here, things would be on fire, so I guess it's good that he isn't."

"The Raijinshu were saying that Sting's a pretty good replacement," Lucy commented. "And Laxus can't believe that people have issues with him as a guild leader."

"It's true," Erza said solemnly. "People are more likely to overlook Sting's youthful tendencies when they first hear about him being guild leader. Laxus is more notorious because of his heritage and his banishment."

"Sting's _youthful tendencies_ as you so kindly put it are only overlooked until he's standing right in front of you," Yukino said, appearing behind them. "After that, the obviously better choice is Laxus. I don't think anyone who knows the two is under any illusions in that respect. Also, if you want to take bets on how long it will take for him to break something, Bickslow started a betting pool on the second floor. I think Mystogun's closest to winning, at the rate things are going."

"Mystogun's here?" Erza said, eyes darting to the second floor. "I didn't know he had arrived."

"Like I'm not a decent indicator?" Cobra muttered, taking a drink from the mug Kinana placed in front of him on her last foray into the quiet corner. She had to step over Midnight though, since the man had rolled out of his chosen nap spot under the bar.

"I should go greet him," Erza stammered, shooting up and blushing. "I'll be back in a bit."

As she hurried away, Yukino took her seat, watching the four snickering mages. "Am I missing a joke?"

Aquarius chuckled. "If there was ever anyone less likely to get a boyfriend than Lucy," she started, but was cut off by an elbow to the side.

"Hey!" Lucy protested, and then turned back to Yukino. "She just…ah, how do I explain it?"

"They have a history," Levy giggled, smothering her laughter with her hands. "A looong history."

"That doesn't explain much," Yukino murmured as they all succumbed to laughter.

"Titania's in love with the guy and he's in love with her, but they're both too shy to do anything about it," Cobra supplied, rolling his eyes as Lucy and Levy glared at him. "What, there's no secrets when it comes to me. I just call them like I hear them. Most people have that particular one figured out anyway, except for those two."

"It's more of the fact that you started a conversation on _that_ subject _here_," Lucy muttered as Mira bustled over, smiling brightly.

"So, Erza and Jellal?" she chirped, settling in for a conversation and leaving Kinana stranded at the other end with all of the orders.

"Yes," Lucy said shortly. "But let them deal with that," she warned, seeing the hearts in Mira's eyes.

"Awww," Mira whined, but turned to Yukino instead: "So, you came in with Rogue?"

"Someone help!" Yukino squeaked.

Lucy sighed, seeing the familiar mischievous look in Mira's eyes that indicated the woman was in the midst of matchmaking plans. "Mira, leave her be. I'm sure Sabertooth is more than capable of managing their own relationships. And her sister might kill you if you push her into something."

Looking in the direction of Angel, who was talking with Laki and Racer, Cobra snickered quietly. "She's _very_ protective. Almost as bad as Erza."

"Well then," Mira said, changing targets effortlessly. "How about you Lucy? You've been living with Laxus for almost six months. Any progress?"

Spluttering, Lucy gawked at the she-demon. "Progress in what?"

"Your relationship of course!" Mira sang cheerfully, leaning on the bar. "You two looked so cute together up on the second floor. Standing next to each other like that, you looked like a matched pair! Tell me, has he tried to kiss you? Or has he walked in on you when you were naked?"

Cobra nearly fell off his chair laughing. Rounding on him, Mira asked: "What's so funny?"

Despite Lucy's death glare, Cobra leaned closer to the barmaid. "She _asked_ him to enter the bathroom while she was taking a bath."

Gasps were heard around the bar, and everyone turned to look at Lucy. Feeling herself turn a bright red, Lucy waved her hands. "Cobra, I hate you," she muttered, before turning to Mira. "It was the night Jel-ah, Mystogun asked to have Crime Sorciere join the guild. I couldn't wash my hair, so I asked Laxus for his help. But I was completely covered, and he didn't see _anything_. That was the only time."

"You walked in on him in his boxers," Cobra reminded her offhandedly.

Fixing him with a glare, Lucy fingered Virgo's key. "I could put you up a tree again," she offered, knowing that she couldn't _actually_ use her magic today, but she had picked up some more practical combat skills while she worked for the mayor. Those would still work just fine for the revenge she was planning.

"Oh, and then there was the time we found you sitting in his lap…" Cobra said cheerfully.

Lucy lunged for him with a growl, but he simply dodged. Continuing, they slowly found themselves moving away from the bar and into the center of the guild hall. The brawling combatants broke up their fight, moving to the side while the two mages fought in what had to have been the most coordinated fight the guild hall had ever seen. Knowing that Cobra's magic allowed him to know her every move as she planned it, Lucy tried to let her mind go blank, just like it did when she was meditating. It seemed to work, because she managed to land a hit or two on him before he grabbed her ankle and threw her into the air.

Reaching out her hand, Lucy grabbed one of the rafters and painfully swung herself onto the broad beam. Crossing to the second floor, she landed among the Raijinshu, Erza, Jellal, and Rogue. Laxus was the only one in the group who _didn't_ seem surprised.

"Lucy, when did you learn to do that?" Erza said, staring at her.

"Ah…while everyone was gone?" Lucy murmured, trying to remember. "Capricorn and Loke drilled me in hand to hand combat to help my melee fighting."

"How were you countering his Soul Listening Magic?" Jellal asked curiously. "He says that the only person who effectively prevented him from listening was Natsu, merely because your friend quite literally _shut his brain off_."

Snickering slightly at the thought of how easily Natsu must have found that task, Lucy replied: "When I meditate to work on my magic, I have to clear my mind of all thoughts. I know it's not the same as clearing my soul, but everything must quiet enough to make it harder for Cobra to hear my next move."

"Did you ever get a chance to keep working on your runes Lucy-san?" Freed asked curiously.

"Not too much," Lucy admitted ruefully. "I hit a few issues not too long after you left and then it was just easier to use Aries's wool bomb, combined with Virgo's chains. And I'm sorry Bix, Ever…I didn't develop Seith or Fairy magic either…"

"We didn't expect you to," Ever sniffed. "There's only one room for one Fairy here."

"If you picked up any more than you already have, the three of us would be out of a job," Bix said, tongue lolling cheerfully. "Just stay like you are."

"It was certainly impressive Lucy-san," Rogue commented from the shadows. "Not many people could fight evenly with a dragon slayer."

Lucy shrugged. "He wasn't actually trying," she pointed out. "If he was, he would have wiped the floor with me."

"Still, I feel as if you weren't being serious with him," Jellal said. "While he may have been just toying with you, you weren't giving it everything you had."

"I'm done with fighting," Lucy said quietly. "I've had enough of it to last me for a long time. I'll keep my skills up, and maybe spar with people every so often, like today, but I'm not going to fight."

"You don't have to," Laxus said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "For someone with such a big heart, you've seen a lot of fighting. Nobody would begrudge you peace. Mira would probably like having someone around more often. And if you wanted you could take the Raijinshu's place doing my paperwork with me, so they could go out as a team. I know they're getting antsy here in the guild."

"Thank you," Lucy said with a slight bow. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I should get back to my guest."

* * *

"Well, I guess this is it," Aquarius said, her voice sounding choked. "I'll see you…I don't know when. You better not make it the day you die though. It took a lot of effort to negotiate four days to visit you, so you better make sure that I can use them."

"Don't worry," Lucy said, trying to keep the tears at bay. "I promise, we'll see each other in the future. I want my kid to meet you so they know how annoying you always were."

The woman chuckled. "If Scorpio and I ever get to have kids, we're going to use you as the example of what _not_ to be."

"At least I won't ever have to be washed away again. I'll make sure that your powers get controlled, for once."

"You better be grateful that I left those here for you. It's the least I could do since I'm not around to save your sorry bum." Aquarius hugged her, and then the spirit began to glow. "I guess my time's up for now. Take care of yourself. Scorpio keeps me updated, so don't do stupid things."

"I promise, and you know that I don't go back on my promises!" Lucy called as the spirit faded away. "Take care of yourself!"

She heard Aquarius's laughter as the spirit left, and Lucy tried to hold on to that, tried to keep the sadness at bay as it threatened to swallow her as it did two years before. The goodbye they had said that day resonated in her as she stared at the spot her oldest spirit had stood.

"I'm sorry Lucy," Laxus's voice seemed hesitant as he stood behind her. "I know it's not easy…"

With a whimper, she turned and threw herself into his chest, needing to feel someone's arms around her as she cried. For two years, she had mourned the loss of her oldest spirit, unable and unwilling to tell those around her, but now people knew. She didn't have to be alone any more.

After a few moments, her tears subsided. Looking up at the man holding her, she was surprised to see understanding on his face, and acceptance. "Can we go home now?" she mumbled shyly.

"Of course," he said, loosening his grip on her. "It's been a long day, for both of us. How was it, being back at the guild?"

"It was…tiring," Lucy murmured, reaching for his hand, unwilling to let go of his support so quickly. As they started walking, she explained: "I liked being back with everyone, but it still feels…weird. And I had a bunch of people ask me to go on missions with them…I'm not ready for that. I had enough missions when I was under the contract…the thought of going out on one again scares me. Even if I went with Gajeel and Shadow Gear…I don't think I'd be comfortable even if I went out with the Raijinshu, even on the most basic mission available. Does that make sense?"

Laxus nodded. "You went through hell for a year and a half. The last mission you went on nearly killed you. Nobody, and I mean _nobody_ would blame you for not wanting to go out ever again. Do you see people forcing Mira to go out after Lisanna disappeared? This guild understands. We'll work something out for you. If you want, I'm sure Mira and Kinana would love some help at the bar. Or, even though I'm back to being guild master full-time, I could always use help with paperwork. After today, Freed and the others are going back on the missions roster, and I have to plan the S-class trials. That's if you even want to _do_ things. You could just enjoy spending time with people at the guild. I mean…that's what Nab always does anyway."

Lucy bit her lip, surprised at the gesture from him. "But…I'm going to need to look for an apartment soon. Now that I'm healed…I can't keep staying at your place without helping to pay for things. It's time for me to let you have your house back."

He was quiet for a moment. "You know…" he began slowly, looking away from her. "It's not so bad having a roommate, especially when you can cook pretty well. As much as I love my team, culinary skills are not their forte. And you're pretty quiet too, comparatively. Why don't you just rent my spare room, and you can make it up by helping with my paperwork? Mavis knows, there's a lot there."

"Are you just saying that because you feel sorry for me?" Lucy asked suspiciously. "Because I want to be self-sufficient. I don't want to be dependent on anyone."

Nodding, Laxus said: "I'm aware. Trust me, I am _very_ aware. And you don't need to worry. Five hours of paperwork a week, plus chipping in for groceries every so often will be plenty of rent. Your help with the paperwork means that I don't have to be at the guild until midnight every day, which to me is work sharing my house with you. So, what do you say?"

Considering the offer for a moment, Lucy smiled. "Sounds good. Five hours of paperwork plus groceries in exchange for a room. Oh, and I'll help with the chores as well. I'll talk with Mira tomorrow about getting a job behind the bar with her to cover the rest of my expenses, if that's okay with you?"

Laxus shrugged. "Honestly, I don't think anyone in the guild would have a problem with you just hanging out at the guild all day after what happened. But I get it; you want to do something, even if it's just working at the bar. So why in the world would I have a problem with it? This way Mira and Kinana can get some more free time."

When they reached the house, Laxus unlocked the door and opened it. "I'll get you a key made tomorrow," he said as she entered, shuffling to the side of the entryway so she could kick off her sneakers. "We haven't bothered too much with it for the past few months, but now that we'll both be coming and going, the house should probably be locked if it's empty."

"Understood," Lucy murmured, hiding a yawn. "I'm going to head to bed. It's been a long day. See you in the morning?"

With a smile, Laxus said: "See you in the morning, Lucy."

As she drifted off to sleep, Lucy vaguely realized that this was the first time in a long while that her mind hadn't been troubled with guilt or fear. Curled up under her blanket, she smiled softly, ready to face the days ahead of her with all of her friends by her side. Well, all but one.

Her last thought before she fell asleep was: _Natsu, you said it would only be a year_.

*****Well, that's it for reconciliation. There's just one more thing to wrap up. Okay...that was a bad pun, seeing as how the next chapter is Christmas at Fairy Tail! That was probably my second favorite chapter to write, and I've been so excited to share it with you!**

**Unfortunately, it's going to end on a cliffhanger. I'm sorry. And even more unfortunately, I'm going to be away from my computer for a week. So NEXT Monday and Thursday won't have any updates. If possible, I'd ask Beta to post, but she's super busy right now. **

**In more happy news, it's looking like the sequel will be posted before the CoLu. Mainly because I've managed to sort out some of the lore. Not all of it, but enough to make forward progress. There's not enough to go straight into it right away, so there will be either a hiatus between finishing ****_Still Standing_**** and posting the sequel, or I'll post smaller stories or one-shots in between. Perhaps finish ****_Ballad of Lucy Heartfilia_****. Or maybe give you all some of the post-****_Strength of Spirit_**** material that I have. (Which admittedly isn't much.) Feel free to let me know what you'd like to see!*** **


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty-Three:**

Lucy was ready to strangle someone with tinsel.

Exchanging a pained look with Cobra, she tried once more to reason with Mira. "We don't need any mistletoe Mira, it's going to be more hassle than it's worth. Just the one bunch in the corner by the bar should do it. Otherwise nobody's going to get anything done because we're all going to be stuck under it."

"Especially if you're getting your boyfriend to draw up rune traps," Cobra muttered from where he was hanging lights around the bar. Kinana nodded in agreement as she passed him a hook.

"But Lucy, Christmas is the time for romance! There's nothing more romantic than a Christmas Eve kiss!" Mira protested, waving the sprigs of mistletoe violently. "Where your sense of romance?"

"Working perfectly fine," Lucy retorted. "But think about Kinana and me. If we're supposed to be circulating and checking on the food, we're going to be constantly caught under the mistletoe with whoever's nearest. If you're trying to pair people up, wouldn't it be better to pair them up with the same people all the time? And I'm sure Cobra wouldn't be too fond of having Kinana constantly stuck in rune traps. Freed wouldn't like it if you were stuck in them either." Behind Mira's back, Cobra was shooting a death glare at the barmaid, his lip curled in a silent snarl. At his side, Kinana was blushing. They were Fairy Tail's newest couple, after Mira and Cobra had gotten into an argument where Cobra swore he'd ask Kinana out if Freed ever manned up enough to ask Mira. Nobody knew how she did it, but within two days, Freed and Mira were an official couple, and Cobra was forced to uphold his end of the bargain. Not that he overly minded. Ever since he and Kinana had been reunited, they'd been slowly moving towards a romantic relationship. The argument with Mira just pushed the two of them into admitting it.

Pausing to consider it, Mira nodded slowly. "That would be a problem…" she mused, and Lucy sighed in relief. It was quickly retracted as the barmaid regained her fervor. "He'll just write the runes to exclude us unless we're with our partners! Oh, but Lucy, you're not dating anyone right? So it's fine if you're exempt from it?"

Lucy paled. _Sneaky Mira, sneaky_. Ever since the incident with Sting at the regional guild master's meeting…why Freed couldn't go as Laxus's assistant was _beyond_ her…Mira had been trying to get Lucy to admit that she was romantically interested in Laxus. Unfortunately for the both of them, Lucy was more stubborn than Mira when it came to admitting anything about romance, especially when it came to her own.

"No rune traps and absolutely _no_ mistletoe." Laxus bellowed from upstairs. "Think of the chaos that might happen if Erza and Jellal get caught with different people."

That seemed to squash even Mira's love for the small plant. "Fine then," she called back to the lightning mage, who was busy wrapping garland around the railings. "But for that, you're going to let me have _complete_ control over planning the Valentine's Day party."

"Whatever," Laxus grunted, securing the last piece of garland. "That's finished. What's next?"

"Why don't you and Lucy work on the lights hanging from the second floor?" Mira said, pointing to the pile of boxes. "And when you're done with that, go up to the attic and get the decorations for the tree. People should start arriving in an hour or so, and we'll start the tree not long after. Cobra, Kinana, when you're done with the bar, go hang the wreaths in the windows, and put the candles in the windows."

"You decided against the candles," Freed said as he came up from the cellar with a box of plates. "Potential for fire and all. Without Natsu here, it's a bit harder to do fire control."

Mira stomped her foot petulantly, but nodded and crossed something out on her list. "Fine then. Cobra, Kinana, just do the wreaths. Freed, was that the last box of plates?"

Leaving Mira to fuss over the details, Lucy joined Laxus on the second floor, lights piled high in her arms. "Remind me to write Hisui and ask her to pass a royal decree prohibiting mistletoe," she muttered, setting the lights down on a table.

Chuckling, Laxus opened a box. "It's just for a day," he said, pulling out a strand of lights. "Not worth the pouting that would ensue. And if she ever found out that _you_ were the instigator…"

"Point," Lucy said, grabbing another light strand. "Shall we?"

Three hours later, and the party was in full swing. Because it was Christmas Eve, a temporary ban on brawling seemed to have been called, and for once there seemed to be no arguments at all. Mira kept Lucy and Kinana busy, making sure the tables were adequately supplied with food, but the initial rush seemed to be settling into a pleasant lull, which could only mean one thing.

"Lucy, can we decorate the tree?" Asuka tugged on the hem of Lucy's sweater as she passed the table where the little girl sat with her parents. "Pretty please?"

Looking at Mira, who nodded with a big smile, Lucy felt her own smile growing as she replied: "Why don't you go tell everyone it's time?"

With a cheer, the little girl bolted towards the tree, her parents following more sedately behind her. Soon everyone was gathered around the tree, and Lucy was busy passing out ornaments left and right.

She could remember the last Christmas vividly. Almost as if they were afraid that everyone would leave again, the guild had gathered to celebrate on Christmas Eve, everyone bringing a favorite ornament and a story. Many of her nakama had brought ornaments this year too, but there was still a demand for the many, many glass bulbs that had been stored in the guild's attic for this day. Smiling fondly, she watched as Macao and Wakaba laughed with Cana about her beer barrel ornament, which she was hanging on the tree suspiciously close to the blocky shape that someone had found at a thrift store and everyone had unanimously agreed reminded them of Gildarts. Lucy wished for her friend's sake that the man had come home. Last Christmas, with her friends still absent, she had felt the terrible loneliness that came from an absent loved one, and she wouldn't wish that on anyone. But Cana simply fingered the ornament and laughed, and Lucy knew that her friend would be all right.

"Lucy, we found your star! Come put it on the tree." Levy rushed over with the gorgeous golden star that had been found in a little shop in Magnolia and Lucy took in carefully. Wandering over to the tree, she sidestepped an argument that Lisanna and Angel were having about tinsel placement and looked for a good place for her star. Finding a bare spot, she stood on her tiptoes to place it, smiling as she stepped back and saw Erza's knight nearby, accompanied by the staff that someone had decided was perfect for Jellal, who was still masquerading as Mystogun for public Fairy Tail appearances. Side by side, Juvia and Grey's matching icicle and watery globe rested amid the branches.

Looking through the branches, Lucy saw the small tokens that were meant to represent her family scattered throughout the branches, and smiled as she saw the new additions. Cobra's snake, Racer's shoe, Hoteye's heart, Angel's tiny glass angel, Meredy's pink ribbon…her family had grown and grown, leaving her extremely happy, a vast difference from the previous year, where even surrounded by her guild members she had been lonely and miserable.

"Lucy, can you run up to the attic and grab the extra spheres? And maybe some more tinsel if you can find it?" Mira was up on a stepladder, securing the last string of lights. "We were able to find a much bigger tree than last year, and even though we have all of our ornaments, we still need the other ones. Hurry though, Asuka wants to put the tree topper on soon."

Grinning at the thought of the little girl helping Laxus put the big Fairy Tail symbol on top of the tree, Lucy sped up the stairs towards the attic. Finding the last box of ornaments easily, she rooted around looking for more tinsel, but couldn't find any. They must have run out already. Hefting the box, she hurried down the stairs and across the second floor landing, but couldn't help but stop and watch her family gathered around the tree. Laughing and squabbling playfully, they hung ornaments and fussed over lights, telling stories and teasing each other. Someone had put on Christmas music in the background…Doranbolt was sitting on a bench, listening to Wendy chatter excitedly as she hung glass balls with the help of Carla, who would lift them to the higher branches, seemingly oblivious to Jellal, Mystogun disguise forsaken, helping Erza with some tinsel nearby, both of them looking extremely red. And then there was Laxus, laughing with the Raijinshu in the middle of a knot of guild members, Asuka on his shoulders as he dug through the box that Lucy knew held the tree topper. Everything seemed right with the world.

Until the guild doors slammed open as a familiar voice filled the air: "I'm home!"

*****So, again, I'm REALLY sorry about this. I do not ****_intentionally_**** plan on leaving for a week with this particular cliffhanger. Truly, this was an accident.**

**Anyway, Christmas with Fairy Tail! I was squealing as I wrote it. Oh, and just to say, the next few chapters were the hardest ones to write. Honest. **

**Okay, so there will be a total of Thirty-seven chapters in this story, so we're almost done. Unfortunately the next story is ****_nowhere_**** near ready. So I'm willing to take some feedback from you guys.**

**Right now, I have some material that I drafted in the ****_Strength of Spirit_**** universe, epilogue-type material that deals with members of the guild returning. It's not actually a sequel, but more like connected one shots. I also have ****_Ballad of Lucy Heartfilia_**** that I need to finish. I'm also willing to work on one-shots, but I want to know what you guys are interested in. Feel free to PM me or leave a preference in a review. If I don't figure out what I'm going to do, there's going to be a hiatus until the sequel to this is ready, or the CoLu shapes up.*****


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty-Four:**

"Laxus, is it time to do the symbol _now_?" Asuka whined, tugging on his hair from her perch on his shoulders. For a small girl, she could pull surprisingly _hard_, but Laxus simply shrugged, which had the unfortunate response of making her shriek and grip _tighter_. Giving up, he said:

"Not yet. Lucy's not back with the ornaments yet."

"But she _is_," Asuka insisted, pulling on his hair again. "See, she's up there?"

Following her pudgy little finger, Laxus saw the blonde standing at the railing looking over the crowd on the floor. There was a smile on her face, a serene, peaceful look that he had grown to love. She wasn't aware of it, but he loved to watch her when she was like this. It was such a change from how she had been before Tartaros, before the mayor…and he couldn't say he didn't like the change. Seeing her in his house, singing along to the music she had playing as she washed dishes, or curled up in a chair with a book…sometimes he thought that they had lived like that forever, and he knew that if she never moved out, he'd be perfectly okay with that.

But the peace he found in looking at her was broken as Cobra bulled into him, brows furrowed, dragging a confused looking Kinana with him. His normally expressionless face showed traces of anger, fear, and contempt as he muttered: "Can't believe I didn't hear him coming, but you gotta get her out of here. She's not ready for this."

"What's going on?" Laxus said, feeling a flash of fear. _Her_ could only mean Lucy, and if Cobra was telling him to get her out of the guild hall…

Before Cobra could answer the question, the guild hall doors slammed open and a voice Laxus hadn't heard in over two years bellowed: "I'm home!"

_Natsu_. Around him, Laxus heard the guild members echoing the word that reverberated in his head, but his eyes were drawn back to the blonde on the landing. Laxus was sure that in the chaos, he and Cobra were the only ones able to hear the sound of breaking glass as the ornaments slipped through Lucy's hands and crashed to the floor.

"Get her out of here," Cobra repeated, as Laxus took in the paralyzed blonde, her face contorted in a way he hadn't seen since the day she first tried to come back to town. "She's melting down again."

"I can't," Laxus muttered, feeling rooted to the floor. "I have to be guild master right now. Please…" He knew that he was acting out of the ordinary, he knew that normally he wouldn't let anyone see him this indecisive, but for the first time Laxus didn't care. Lucy was what mattered now, and like before, he couldn't help her.

"No, you don't." Turning, Laxus saw Freed, Ever, and Bix watching him. It was Freed who had spoken, and he continued. "Go to her. Take her back to the house. Be there for her. We'll take care of Natsu, even if it means that I have to put him in a rune cage for the next two days."

"If you stay here now, we won't forgive you this time," Ever warned with a snap of her fan.

As Laxus's eyes turned to Bix, the seith mage shrugged. "Cosplayer started smiling for real recently. Be a shame for her to lose it."

Kinana shuffled towards him and stood on her tiptoes. "Asuka, let's go find your mum and dad. Laxus has some things he needs to do right now." Without a fuss, the little girl slithered down his shoulders and into Kinana's arms. She seemed to know that something was wrong.

Without the need to stay behind and deal with Natsu holding him in place, Laxus felt his magic well up even before he actively called for it. Teleporting to Lucy's side, careful to avoid the glass shattered on the floor around her, he wrapped her in his arms and transported them away. Away from the guild, away from Natsu…he wished that he could take her away from everything that upset her.

Reaching the house, he let go of her while he unlocked the door. Lucy slipped through in front of him, kicking off her shoes and moving on through the foyer to the living room. Following her, he wondered how best to approach her. While his gut instinct had been _very_ clear that taking her out of the guild was the right thing to do, it was leaving him on his own now that they were at the house. Despite his experiences both as a guild master and a man, he had no idea how to help his roommate, who, if he was honest, he wanted as a girlfriend, who was obviously hurting deeply. All he could do was follow the blonde as she moved automatically through his, no _their_ house to her room.

Inside her room, Lucy was rummaging through things that he had never seen before. When he had officially "rented" the room to her, she and Virgo had spent a day arranging her things that had been stored in the Spirit World since Lucy had given up her old apartment. Laxus hadn't been inside since, and was surprised by how different it seemed, now that she had let herself feel at home. It actually looked as if it was _Lucy's_ room, not just one of the spare rooms in his house. But his attention was taken away from the room and focused on her as the blonde started throwing things out of a box she had pulled out from under her bed. He ducked as a photograph album flew towards him, and as it hit the wall and fell open, he saw it was filled with pictures of Team Natsu, with Lucy and Natsu in many of them.

Laxus could hear her muttering under her breath as she violently emptied the box, object by object, until she came to one piece of paper. She just went…still, gripping the paper in her hands. He couldn't tell if she was angry or sad or…he just couldn't read her. For the first time in his life, he wished he was Cobra, with the other slayer's ability to see inside everyone else's head.

"Lucy?" he ventured softly, moving further into the room towards where she knelt on the floor. "Do you want to talk?"

She _snarled_ at him, sounding a bit like the dragons that had raised their guild mates. "Go away Laxus. I can't deal with…I just need to be alone."

"I'm not going to leave," he said mildly, hiding his surprise. "What's the paper in your hands?"

"Mind your own business," she snapped instinctively, pressing the paper to her chest. "If it was anything you needed to know, I'd let you know."

"Don't be like that," he responded without thinking.

"Don't be like _what_, exactly?" Lucy hissed, standing up. "I'll be however I want to be."

"Lucy…" Laxus sighed. It was painful, watching her return to the person she had been when she woke up in the infirmary. They had been through so much as she recreated herself around the person she wanted to be now, to see her like this again felt devastatingly cruel. _What did Natsu do to her?_ "Lucy, what's bothering you?"

"What's bothering me?" she laughed bitterly, fingering the folded paper. "_What's bothering me?_" her voice had dropped to a whisper. "I can't even be happy that my best friend is back because just thinking about him makes me remember how he not only _left_ me here, but he bound me to protect the guild in his stead. He's the reason why I stayed, why I ended up in that bloody contract…and I can't tell him any of it. I'll _never_ be able to tell him. Natsu's never hurt anyone before, never actually made someone dislike him. For him to learn that he made me make the choice that led to me choosing to enter into the contract that did so much damage…it would hurt him so much more than losing Igneel did. So I have to not only live with what happened to me, but I have to live with the reality that I can't tell my friend why I can't stand to look at him, why I'm different, why I don't go on jobs anymore…aren't I allowed to be angry about that? You heard him today, he doesn't even seem sorry that he was gone for longer than he promised! He's not going to see how much he hurt me, how much he hurt any of us! And I can't do anything about it."

Laxus watched in awe as she crumpled in front of him, her voice changing from anger to pain to a deep sadness that he hadn't heard from her in the entire two years that he had gotten to know her. Sinking to the floor, she clutched the paper in her hand as tears began to flow down her cheeks. For all of the time they had spent together during her recovery, Lucy had never broken down so completely in front of him. Moving on instinct, he knelt beside her and wrapped her in his arms, tugging her to his chest. She clutched the front of his shirt and buried her face in his chest, a surprising show of vulnerability. Even with everything that she had gone through, Laxus had never been allowed to see Lucy like this.

"Please," she mumbled into his shirt. "I just can't do this on my own. Not anymore."

"I'll be right here," he whispered, holding her close. "You don't have to handle anything on your own unless you want to."

Eventually, Lucy's tears subsided, leaving the two of them in the middle of the floor. Cautiously, Laxus shifted his hand from the center of her back to stroke her long blonde hair that she had left loose for the day. In the two years that he had gotten to know her, her hair had grown to hang all the way to her waist. While he had certainly appreciated her appearance when her hair hung around her shoulders, it was the longhaired woman in his arms that he would always remember falling in love with. Watching her at the guild as they decorated had only solidified the belief that she was the best thing outside of Fairy Tail itself to have happened to him. Hopefully, she felt the same.

"Lucy?" he murmured after her breathing had evened out and the tears had stopped soaking his shirt. "May I show you something?" When she nodded, he gently lifted her up to stand, helping her through the chaos she had created in her room. Carefully, he led her to the living room and slowly turned the lights on, holding his breath as he waited for her reaction to what he had prepared.

Her sharp intake of breath was enough for him to start breathing again. "Do you like it?" he asked softly, still holding her hands, but unable to see her expression as she scanned the room, now fully decorated for Christmas.

"Yes," she breathed, turning to face him, and he could see tears glistening in her eyes again. "I love it. When did you have the time though?"

"Jellal and Crime Sorciere helped with the tree, but I've been slowly acquiring the rest of it over the past two weeks. After you left this morning, I got everything put together. I know we're planning on spending most of our time at the guild during the holidays, but I thought you might like having the house decorated as well."

"It's beyond perfect," Lucy murmured, squeezing his hands gently with a soft smile. "Thank you so much."

Suddenly nervous again, Laxus took a deep breath. "Lucy…I know that we got off to a rough start, even from back during the conflict with Phantom Lord. But the way things have been going recently…I think we've overcome all that. Maybe I'm just being presumptuous, or reading things wrong but…at least for me, I think there's something more. I want to be by your side Lucy, and I care about you more than I can say. Please, can we give ourselves the chance to be more than just friends and housemates?"

Taking a shuddering breath, Lucy looked at him, and Laxus could see the emotions warring within her plainly displayed on her face. When they settled, he was looking at a deep weariness, mingled with grief. "Laxus…please, ask me tomorrow. Tonight…tonight, I just need to deal with everything else."

"Of course," he replied softly, angry at himself for not taking into account Lucy's already strained emotions caused by Natsu's whirlwind return. "Take all the time you need. I'm not going to go anywhere unless you want me to."

Gently pulling him towards the couch, Lucy motioned for him to sit down. Once he was comfortable, she surprised him by settling herself in his lap and tugging his arms around her. "I need you here," she whispered with a blush as she rested her head against his chest. "I just need to know that I'm not going to be left behind again. Please…don't let go of me tonight. Not even if I'm asleep. I…I don't want to wake up alone."

"Does that mean you want us to stay here, on the couch? Or do you want me to stay on your floor tonight?" Laxus was startled by her request. Yet at the same time, it made sense. Lucy had been left behind by so many people in her life, it was only logical that now, with the wounds of Natsu's departure reopened by his return, she needed someone to cling to, someone who wouldn't go anywhere.

"I just want you to be comfortable," Lucy muttered, resting her head just about his heart. "Honestly, I trust you to be a gentleman, so I'll let you choose what to do in this situation. And it's not like Natsu…" Lucy's voice cracked, but she continued. "It's not like Natsu didn't crawl into my bed whenever he felt like it, so I'm used to platonic bed-sharing."

Laxus raised an eyebrow in surprise at this new revelation, while inside he was suppressing a growl of irritation at the younger slayer's inability to recognize boundaries. But tonight was about Lucy, about helping her deal with the emotions caused by Natsu's return to her life. That was all that mattered.

*****So. Well. It's been a while.**

**Again, I'm sorry for the long wait between chapters. And then I had to go make this one late because beta wanted me to redo a few paragraphs and I was busy. Significant romantic movement though! And the Lucy-Natsu confrontation is delayed some more. She really just needs some space to come to terms with everything. It's like, while he was gone, she didn't have to deal with him leaving her. Now that he's back...well, she has to face the fact that he left in the first place. Also, your reviews were fantastic. I honestly fell over laughing at some of your reactions because they were wonderful.**

**Oh, and Mashima needs to stop feeding my plot bunnies. They multiply too quickly as it is. At this point, the sequel is never going to be finished because I keep learning cool new things that I want to incorporate.*****


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five:**

When Laxus woke, he was immediately disoriented. It had been _years_ since he had woken up with someone else sharing his bed, let alone fully clothed. But as soon as Lucy's distinctive strawberry scent hit his nostrils everything fell into place. She had fallen asleep on the couch, still wrapped in his arms, and when he had begun to doze off, he had moved the two of them into his room because he had the larger bed. Lucy was still asleep, or her waking would have woken him up earlier. A small grin tugged at his lips as he thought about the situation they were in, and knew that if it happened more often, he wouldn't complain. There was something about waking up with Lucy in his arms that just felt…right.

He wondered what she would think when she woke. Natsu's return had sent her back to where she had been at the very beginning. She had fallen asleep, still clutching the worn paper to her chest. While they had sat together on the couch, she had mentioned that it was Natsu's letter to her, written just before he went away. Lucy hadn't shown him the contents, but he knew they were likely too painful for her at the time. From the wear on the paper, he could tell that she probably had the entire thing memorized.

She stirred, and he froze. Even though she had given him permission to choose whatever he wanted in terms of sleeping arrangements, Laxus wasn't sure if she would regret his choice. Eyes still closed, she yawned, stretched and snuggled a little closer to him. When Lucy finally opened her eyes, she moved her head so she could look at him and smiled sleepily up as he looked down at her.

"Yes," she murmured softly, her smile solidifying.

"Huh?" It wasn't Laxus's most intelligent response, but he was utterly confused at this particular turn of events.

Lucy grinned. "My answer to last night's question. Yes."

"Yes?"

"_Yes_," she said, a hint of exasperation in her voice. "Now, are you going to kiss me, or do I have to do everything myself?"

Now this was something Laxus could do. Shifting slightly, he positioned himself a brief distance from Lucy's lips before he hesitated. _If this is a dream, will this be the moment when I wake up?_

Impatient with him, Lucy surged forward and kissed him. They parted only when both of them were breathless. Holding her close, Laxus knew for certain that it wasn't a dream. Running his fingers through her hair, he thanked his lucky stars that she was willing to give him a chance.

"Are you ready to open presents?" he asked softly, thinking of the box that waited under the tree, and its companion, which was hidden in his sock drawer, for the eventuality that she had said yes. He had always planned to ask her when he showed her the tree, but Natsu's return interrupted the timing.

"I have presents?" Lucy asked, wide-eyed. Laxus chuckled and kissed her nose.

"Nope, but you can watch me open mine," he teased, pinning her arm down as she tried to swat him. "Just teasing you hun. You've got presents too. Freed and the others sent our gifts to the house when I told them we'd be spending the day here. I invited them over for dinner, but apparently because two thirds of them are dating members of the Strauss family Mira's invitation trumped mine. I guess Bix and Lisanna are planning on teasing the couples the entire night."

Lucy snickered. "Glad I turned down Mira's invitation then, although it might have been amusing. I'd much rather be here, although I _would_ like more comfortable clothing. What do you say we take a few minutes break while I change into something comfy and we reconvene in the living room for presents?"

With a chuckle, Laxus let her slide out from under the covers. "Sounds like a plan. But if you take as long as Ever does, I'm going to start opening presents without you. So consider yourself warned."

Exiting the room, Lucy said: "I'm already halfway to being done. So I think it's _me_ who'll be starting without you."

"You want to bet?" Laxus teased. "Remember, very little is faster than lightning."

"No magic!" she yelled, disappearing into the hallway. Laxus laughed, and then got up. He didn't want to miss a moment of his first Christmas with Lucy. There was also the matter of the box hidden in his sock drawer to attend to.

*****Okay. This is ALL fluff. Nothing else, just fluff. Oh, and for any curious people, the gift Laxus had hidden was a necklace with a lightning bolt pendent. Just in case she ****_did_**** want to be his girlfriend.*****


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six:**

Lucy was just wiping down a glass as the guild doors flew open. She froze for a moment as she heard the familiar greeting, but resumed her task. Feeling Kinana's eyes on her from the other side of the bar, Lucy did her best to act normally. Inside, she was a mess of feelings, but at least she could keep herself calm this time.

The Raijinshu had been able to keep Natsu and Happy away from her for a few days, and then Erza had managed to drag him and Grey out on a mission that lasted a week, allowing Lucy time to consider what she wanted to do about her former partner. But now he was back, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to escape at all.

"Just this once, I'll let him fight me seriously," Cobra muttered from his seat by her elbow. She had served him his usual bleach moments before, and then been thrown a dry towel as Kinana thrust the tub of freshly washed dishes at her as the other girl bustled about preparing for the lunch rush. So she had stayed by the poison dragon slayer, whom she had recently realized she regarded as a friend, much to her surprise.

Blinking at him for a moment, Lucy shook her head. "As much as I appreciate the offer…I think I can manage this. But if I look flustered, somehow manage to throw the bleach on me and give me a reason to escape, okay?"

Cobra grunted. "Laxus is wondering if he should come down here and run interference."

Frowning Lucy watched as Natsu and the others made their way through the guild. "I'm a big girl and can handle this by myself. Though, his offer is sweet. Can he hear everything that's going on?"

With a nod, Cobra returned to his drink just as the returning group reached the bar. "Kinana, did Mira leave you all alone with the lunch rush today?" Erza asked, turning in the mission request form to the purple haired girl, who in turn slipped it into the file under the bar.

"No," Kinana began slowly, obviously trying to stall, but the damage was done. Natsu's eye met Lucy's over the bar, and he bounded over, looking like a puppy that had been left out in the rain.

"Lucy, I've been trying to see you, but nobody would tell me where you were! I followed your scent to Laxus's, but he stopped me, and then Erza wanted to go on a mission…Happy and I wanted to ask you to come, but Erza said that you had other plans. Now that we're back though, let's go on another mission! I saw one that I thought would be good for us on the board. Want to leave tomorrow? We can catch up while we're on the mission. I've got a bunch of new things to show you. If Laxus fought me now, I'm sure I would beat him!" As he spoke, Natsu's grin returned, as bright as Lucy remembered it. Swallowing a surge of bitterness, she smiled softly at Happy as the cat flew over to sit on the bar.

"Natsu…I'm not going on missions anymore." The words came easily after a moment; it had taken her days to figure them out.

"Well, how do you pay your rent?" Natsu's grin drooped, and Lucy's heart ached at how confused and sad he looked. "You always used to complain that you didn't have enough money to pay your rent before. Why don't you want to go on a job?"

Lucy sighed, and set down the glass she had just finished drying. "Natsu, I work here at the guild now. And I don't have my apartment anymore, I'm renting a space at Laxus's house. Between helping with his paperwork and working at the bar, I don't need to go out on jobs."

"But you can still go if you want to!" Natsu said, smile returning. "Mira goes out sometimes with Lisanna and Elfman, so you can come with Happy and I! And why did you give up your apartment? We loved it there. Laxus had Freed put up runes around his house so Happy and I can't come visit."

Shaking her head, Lucy murmured: "I know Mira goes out from time to time Natsu, but I'm not like Mira. Right now I just work at the bar and help Laxus, that's it. I haven't been on a job in almost a year." As a reminder, her hand ached briefly, and she felt her left leg, which had been marginally worse off than her right leg, tremble. Wendy had told her that it was just phantom sensations, caused by the psychological trauma rather than the physical trauma. "It's kind of like I'm Mira was when I came to the guild. Or Kinana."

"You're our partner though!" Happy protested from his seat on the bar. "Who else is going to give me fish?"

Patting him on the head, Lucy replied: "You can still order fish from me like you did from Mira. That hasn't changed at all. I was solo for a while, and now I've just decided not to do jobs anymore. Levy and Erza both offered to go out on jobs with me, but I didn't want to."

"But we're back now!" Natsu chimed. "So there shouldn't be a problem, right? It will be just like old times."

It broke Lucy's heart as she looked at her former partner's wide grin and said quietly: "A lot's changed Natsu. You were gone a long time. I changed over two years. Things aren't going to be how they used to be."

The smile dimmed again. "I know," Natsu said, and for a moment, Lucy saw the pain of losing Igneel in his eyes again. "But we're still here. The only person missing is Gramps. But we have Laxus now. Why are you living with him anyway?"

"I needed a place to stay. And we're dating anyway." At Cobra's snicker, she shot him a glare and reached for a plate, silently thanking Laxus and Mira for choosing all-plastic dishes. Beginning to dry it, she waited for the inevitable reactions.

"You, and _Laxus_?" Natsu's voice went up in volume as he processed the information.

"Do you lllliike him?" Happy taunted mischievously.

"Yes, and yes. We started dating not too long ago, and I do like him. Plus, I owe him a great deal. He offered me a room when I didn't have any other place to stay. We got to know each other, and it just snowballed from there." Briefly, Lucy looked towards the railing, wondering if Laxus was silently observing from the second floor, as he was prone to do when his paperwork was finished or the guild was particularly boisterous. But his usual space was empty, although thanks to Cobra, she knew he was listening. It didn't matter though. She would have answered the same either way.

"You say you owe him. Lucy, you don't have to date people who have done favors for you. You're way too nice like that." Natsu's voice was kind as he looked at Lucy. "Just a thank you is enough."

Without thinking, Lucy leaned over the bar and slapped Natsu across the face. Her palm stung at the impact, but she was too infuriated to care. "You listen to me right now. I'm not dating Laxus because I feel like I owe him something. I am dating Laxus because I want to, and because I like him. The fact that you think I would just date someone because they did something kind for me offends me. I'm only going to say this one more time. I'm not going on a mission with you, and you can't visit me at Laxus's house. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do since it's almost the lunch rush." Grabbing her bin of dishes, Lucy fled into the kitchen, not sure if she was hurt or angry.

Turning around, she was surprised as two familiar arms wrapped around her. "That sounded awkward," Laxus murmured in her ear as he held her close. "I have to go back up soon, but I just wanted to hold you for a moment after that."

"He just…he's just always been oblivious, and it's painful right now." Lucy sighed, leaning into his chest, taking comfort from his presence. "But it's Natsu. Eventually it won't hurt as much and things can go back to how they were."

"Is that what you want?" Laxus asked softly, brushing his lips across the top of her head. "Do you want to go back to how things were before Tartarus?"

"I love where I've ended up," Lucy whispered. "Minus the awkwardness with Natsu anyway. If I could have gotten here without all the pain in between, I'd go back in a heartbeat. But if that's what it took for me to be able to be held like this, then that's what I want to happen. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

Laxus didn't say anything more, just held her closely before returning to his office.

*****So, we've got one more chapter to go. The countdown is on to the final confrontation between Natsu and Lucy. Which means we've come to a crossroads. Do you want to see filler material from ****_Strength of Spirit_**** (and maybe a bit from ****_Still Standing_****), want me to wrap up ****_Ballad of Lucy Heartfilia_****, or do you just want me to keep quiet until the sequel is ready? Let me know what you think.*****


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty-Seven:**

The silence of the woods in the evening was always refreshing to Lucy. Even though Laxus could have teleported them back easily, Lucy preferred the snowy walk, taking the time to center herself in the morning and then using the time to relax at night. In the woods, surrounded by snow and trees, there was no noise other than their footsteps, no smell other than the crisp winter smells, and no light beyond the starlight that she loved to turn her face towards. After a day of being run ragged behind the bar, dodging the melee that invariably occurred, and listening to the dull roar that always filled the guild walls, the peace was refreshing. He didn't say it, but Lucy could tell Laxus loved the quiet as well. All of the tension in his body seemed to drain away during the long walk, so that when they arrived at the house, there was nothing to do but relax.

"Is Natsu still pestering you?" Laxus asked as they trudged through the freshly fallen snow.

Lucy sighed. It had been a week from the time he had cornered her at the bar and she had slapped him, but the dragon slayer hadn't given up. "I used to think his persistence was an admirable trait," she muttered, kicking away the snow building up on the toes of her boots. "Now I think I understand what every dark guild has felt when going up against him."

"I hope you don't mind, but I asked Ever to have a word with him," Laxus said warily. "You said to let you deal with him, but I figured she could at least explain why it was too expensive for you to keep your apartment."

Snorting, Lucy shrugged. "It's harmless enough. But I bet the facts and figures went completely over his head. He did stop pestering me about it though. Wonder why?"

Laxus looked sheepish. "Cobra told me that Gajeel and Levy sat Natsu down and explained how even they had problems trying to make a living in Gajeel's house, which was fully paid for. He said that Natsu seemed to understand it that time."

With a chuckle, Lucy squeezed his hand. "I know I told you all that I wanted to deal with this myself, but just because you're trying to help me doesn't mean I'm going to get all bent out of shape about it. Don't worry so much about the details, but just let me handle him for the big stuff, okay?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone in the guild knows that they should let you handle that particular topic," Laxus muttered. "And if you think we're being overly cautious about getting you _bent out of shape_, remember that you spent over a month telling off everyone who came within a foot of you."

Blushing with shame, Lucy opened her mouth to respond, but stiffened as she heard the sounds of someone else on the path. Hand flying to her keys, she fingered through them, contemplating attack strategies, trying to predict Laxus's response. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the flickering of his lighting, and was glad that he didn't try to shield her. Laxus was perfectly aware of her desire to protect herself and the things she cared about. It had come up one night, when they stayed up talking after a nightmare had woken her. Surprisingly enough, he seemed to accept that she wasn't interested in being a damsel in distress and would let her deal with things on her own. This was just the first time they were given the chance to demonstrate it.

"Come out," Laxus growled. "I know you're there."

From the path that led to the house Lucy had learned to call home stepped a shadowy figure, and Lucy's heart jumped into her throat. _Is it another assassin? Why meet us here, with Laxus who can teleport? Are there runes nearby binding us here?_

"It's just me," the figure called, and Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Natsu come into the illumination cast by Laxus's lightning. "Jeez, why is everyone so uptight?"

"Where's Happy?" Laxus asked, and Lucy watched the man who had brought her to Fairy Tail closely, searching for the signs that would tell her if this was a trap.

"He's with Charle and Lily," Natsu said confusedly. "Something about fish. What's wrong?"

Laxus glanced at Lucy, and she studied Nastu for another moment before nodding. This was the same idiot who she had let drag her across the continent. The two of them relaxed slightly, but not completely. If Natsu was following them to the house, which he knew that he couldn't get into, something was not quite right.

"What do you want Natsu?" Laxus asked wearily. "You couldn't bother her enough at the guild, so you decided to ambush her on her way home?"

Natsu looked offended. "I don't want to bother Luce," he said angrily. "I just want to know why my partner all of the sudden doesn't want to go on missions anymore."

Lucy sighed. "Natsu, it's been over two years. This wasn't a recent decision. A lot of thought went into my choice to stop doing missions. I'm just not ready to go on them."

"But I'm back," Natsu said earnestly. "We can go together, so you don't have to go alone. That way we can take some real jobs, not the easy ones you would choose."

A spark of anger kindled in Lucy's gut. She knew that he didn't mean it, but he was calling her weak again, and helpless without him. It was Natsu, alright. He had never made her feel unappreciated, but she knew that he understood that her magic was not like his own, and probably would never be as strong as his own. Before Tartarus, it had been common knowledge that she was the weakest link on Team Natsu, but he hadn't ever said anything to her. No, his way of expressing his opinion was to take the hard tasks for himself and leave her the simple ones, those that he thought she could handle. But he didn't think that over the years she would have changed, would have grown just like him.

"If you want Erza and the ice princess to come along, I suppose that would be alright," Natsu continued. "But I'm more than enough to protect you, especially now. I got some super awesome moves while I was training!"

"Even if we had Erza and Grey," Lucy said quietly, reaching out to grasp Laxus's hand for support. "Even if we had Laxus and the Raijinshu. Even if we had Gildarts and Jellal. I wouldn't go out on a mission. The last one I went on…it was too close of a call Natsu. I nearly didn't make it home that time."

"You have close calls all the time, but I'll be there," Natsu begged earnestly. "You won't need any of the others."

"Natsu," she snapped, feeling the anger rise in her, hot and bitter, just as it had flowed in the dark days after she had awoken to find that she was still alive. Feeling Laxus's hand squeeze hers, she fought to get control of her emotions. This was Natsu. Her best friend, the person who had saved her time and time again. She couldn't hurt him, couldn't bring herself to ruin things more than they already were ruined. So she tamped down the anger, bit back the words that wanted to spring loose. Because this was Natsu, and she knew that all she had to do was speak the truth and it would destroy him. And Lucy had seen more than enough destruction to want that, even when he was standing in front of her like this, begging for answers and not knowing what he was really asking for.

"Lucy, what happened while I was gone? Erza said you stayed in Magnolia. I guess you took my letter a bit too seriously. And when I was coming back, I heard something about the mayor and you…someone said something on the streets. Nobody will answer my questions at the guild. Erza and Lisanna say I should talk to you."

Closing her eyes, Lucy searched for the lies she had been constructing within herself ever since she had seen her friend return. "Natsu, I just did some odd jobs for the mayor to earn money while everyone was gone. This past summer, he was found guilty of doing some bad things, so Doranbolt took him away. Fairy Tail actually uncovered the evidence, but Doranbolt made sure he went to jail. And as to why nobody will talk about it, they decided to let _me_ handle it so you would get the facts straight the first time."

"How come you smell different? You always smell like makeup now, and you never used to before. Remember, you didn't like wearing the stuff every day, and you hated covering up? What happened to that Lucy?"

"Natsu…" Lucy sighed. "It's been over two years. I've changed…how can I make you see?"

"Fight him," Laxus murmured softly into her ear. "It's the only way you'll be able to show him that you've changed."

She looked up at him, wide-eyed. "I can't beat _Natsu_," she gasped. Even though she knew that she had improved vastly under Loke and Capricorn's tutelage, Lucy knew that she wasn't at the same level as any of her dragon slayer guild mates.

"You've got the advantage of him not taking you seriously, which should buy you enough time. Plus, with Aquarius's gift, you have a general advantage."

Lucy shook her head, but deep down, she knew that her boyfriend was right. "Natsu, fight me," she said grimly, reaching for her keys. _I swore that I would only do this as a last resort. Everyone, please, be ready for anything. I don't know how I'll react._

"Luce, I don't want to hurt you," Natsu whined. "I just want answers."

"Then fight me for them," Lucy called as Laxus moved away from her. "If you win, I'll tell you whatever you want to know. However, if I win, you're going to be content with what I tell you and never mention the matter again."

Natsu shrugged. "Okay, but I don't know why you want to fight me just for that."

"I'll officiate," Laxus called from the edge of the path. "On my signal…"

Dropping into a crouch, Lucy pulled off her gloves and dropped them on the forest floor. She wished that she had her whip, but since she was only working the bar, she had stopped carrying it. It had been months since she last carried it. Virgo had told her that she had cleaned the whip while waiting for Lucy to regain consciousness after the mission that nearly killed her. Ever since, it had rested on Lucy's nightstand, only picked up when Capricorn or Loke wanted her to train with it.

At Laxus's signal she called out Taurus, letting him fling her into the trees that surrounded the path. Swinging amidst the branches, she moved towards Natsu, who was watching her approach, fists aflame. Lucy knew that she would have to end this quickly, before Natsu realized how much she had actually grown and met her full on. Letting Taurus begin his charge on the ground, Lucy summoned Gemini in a flash, the spirit instantly copying her. As Lucy faded into the trees, Gemi-Lucy "fell", and drew the attention of both Taurus and Natsu, her oldest friend looking worried as he moved towards the spirit masquerading as her. When he had moved into her strike zone, Lucy made her move, dropping out of the trees and onto his back, driving him into the snow. Bringing her wrist up, she lay it across his neck, where she would have placed the knife she had learned to carry for several close calls.

It took Natsu a precious few seconds to respond, but when he did, he threw her across the path. Going limp, Lucy let herself thud into the snow and slide, coming back up into her stance as she did. As the fire dragon slayer stood there, looking at her with wide eyes, Laxus stepped between them. "This match is over. Lucy wins."

"No way!" Natsu shouted, eyes nearly bugging out of his head. "I'm still able to fight!"

"If she had been armed, you wouldn't be able to move right now," Laxus said firmly. "During her missions, Lucy carried a paralyzing agent that you would have been dosed with during the last attack. Since we're not actually fighting to the death, Lucy just demonstrated a disabling move that you would be caught by if we were fighting. That's grounds for a win."

"Luce," Natsu's voice was shocked as he looked at her. "Why?"

"Because I'm trying to move on," she said, turning away from him. "Everything that happened while you were gone is over. I ran into some troubles, but they were nothing that couldn't be handled. Now they're over, so stop bringing up the past! It's nothing for you to be bothered by!"

Keeping her head held high, Lucy moved down the path that led to the house she shared with Laxus. She knew that looking back would cause her to relent, to tell Natsu what she absolutely couldn't say to him. Behind her, Lucy could hear him shouting, hear the questions he was still hurling at her, but she couldn't answer them. Heavy footsteps on the snow behind her told her that Laxus was following, and when she couldn't hear anything from Natsu, she supposed he was still standing where she left him and he had either fallen silent or they had moved out of range.

It was a quiet walk back to the house, and Laxus didn't press her for information about what she was thinking. Entering the house, she set her boots on the mat and hung her coat on the hooks in the hall. Moving into the living room, she took a seat on the couch. When Laxus went to sit in the armchair across from her, she shook her head, reaching out and tugging on his hand until he sat down beside her.

"I just lied to my best friend," she murmured after a while.

"You told him the truth," Laxus said gently. "It's not your fault if he didn't like what he heard."

"There were more holes in that explanation than a building after Team Natsu's fought nearby." Lucy's voice was wry. "You can lie just as well by omission, and we both know it."

"Lucy, it's your decision. If you think that telling him the whole truth would be the best option, nobody would fault you. He deserves to see what type of damage he did."

Lucy stilled, knowing that deep inside, a part of her wanted to lash out again, to make him feel as much pain as she had during the two years he was gone. But unlike right after her contract was terminated, her better side won out, knowing that in the end, hurting him wouldn't make her feel better. It wouldn't fix what had happened between them or even make up for what had happened to her. To hurt Natsu because she wasn't strong enough to carry the consequences of their shared decisions…it wouldn't lead to anything but more heartbreak. And Lucy had enough heartbreak. Even though to not tell him would mean that for the rest of her life, she would have to hide the truth from him, never able to be completely honest with him…it was worth it if she wanted to ever move on.

"No," she whispered softly. "I can bear it."

"Not alone," Laxus murmured, pulling her into a bone crushing hold. "You won't have to bear it alone this time. I'll be right here by your side, being whatever you need me to be."

Letting him comfort her, Lucy let go of her resentment, let go of her wish that Natsu would understand…it was enough, to have Laxus by her side, helping her bear the guilt of lying to her best friend. Curling up into his side, she let him be the strong one as she cried. _This night, this is the last one that I cry about this. Tomorrow, I move on for real, with only scars to remind me of the past years. I can't live bound by the past. By my side are the best friends anyone could ever ask for. And Laxus…_

Looking at Laxus, Lucy knew that this man, above all of the others whom she had grown closer to in the time since Tartarus and the disbanding of Fairy Tail, this man was the one she had been meant to be with in the end. Wrapped in his arms, Lucy felt safe, but most of all, she felt as if she was at home. Resting her head on his chest, the blonde closed her eyes and let everything else fall away. There was nothing else in her mind but the two of them, and she was perfectly okay with that.

*****Wow. So this has been a long ride. We're clocking in close to a hundred ****_thousand_**** words, which is I believe the longest complete work I've done. There has been a lot of emotion, a lot of sweat, and maybe a few tears in the process of writing this. Three chapters, including this one, have undergone complete rewrites, which has required a TON of collaboration from my beta during a very busy time for the both of us. However, it has been a fantastic ride, and I'm so happy that all of you hung in there for it.**

**Now, a word from the aforementioned beta, who is the ****_best_**** beta that I could hope to work with.**

**_Wow. 37 chapters and we've finally finished Still Standing. For a while, I thought this project would never be finished. Considering Rhose had the concept for this in January, began writing it in March, and took some time off working on other projects, finishing this fic has been much harder than Strength of Spirit. And not to mention all the editing arguments I had with Rhose! In particular, I apologize for some of the posting delays since I've been fairly busy and unable to really discuss this last chapter with Rhose. While we never expected Still Standing to finish like this, I think it's safe to say that we're both very happy with the way the plot turned out. _**

**_I can't say what is coming next though. For a while I thought it was a CoLu, but now it's leaning more towards a sequel for Still Standing or some assorted one-shots. I've already previewed the beginnings of the longer fics and all I can tell you is that it'll be really good whenever Rhose comes around to finishing them. So for now, I bid you adieu and I'll be back as soon as Rhose finalizes some chapters for me to look at!_**

**And as she brought it up, let's answer that question. What ****_is_**** next?**

**First, I'm slowing my posting schedule down. Neither the CoLu or the next segment of ****_Still Standing_**** are ready to post. (For one, the sequel is undergoing it's first rewrite because it started to wander.) If I were to start posting right away, you'd have to wait for sporadic updates. In the meantime, you're getting a collection of one-shot bonus material. I'm not going to make Beta check them, so they may not be the absolute best quality, but they'll be as good as I can make them. Look for them ****_Mondays_****. They'll cover a variety of topics across both universes, probably starting with ****_Strength of Spirit_****.**

**Second, my next long story. The CoLu is another post-416 tale, where Lucy journeys with Crime Sorciere. It's a slow burning romance with a decent bit of fun. (Cobra &amp; sarcasm are my favorite.) Then there's the sequel to this. I'm prefacing all talk of the sequel with the statement that if you're not keeping up with the manga, you will find some spoilers in the sequel. I'm following some of the events (although rearranging the timeline) and keeping the main conflict in mind. That's just a warning. Likely what will end up be posted first is the sequel, because that's what's furthest along.**

**Thank you again for everything. Seeing the reviews and readers to this story...it's been absolutely amazing. I hope you'll be patient with me while I prepare the next installment, and I'll do my best to not take too long.*****


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